Life is hella weird
by MaiQueti
Summary: Chloe Price is a punk drop out living in Arcadia Bay, Oregon. When she reunites with her old best friend, Max Caulfield, who discovered she had the ability to reverse time... Life is strange, retold from Chloe's point of view, with her memories, her thoughts and everything in between.
1. Hellas with an occasional gun

**_Episode 1:_** ** _Chrysalis_**

 ** _Start from the beginning_**

 ** _Chapter 1: Hellas with an occasional gun_**

 **Main Universe - Monday 10/07. Noon.**

"How are you?"

 _Broken. Useless. Alone. Clueless. Confused. Betrayed. Fragile. On the verge of tears. Depressed. Anxious. About to break down. Ready to give up. Pathetic. Annoying. I'm just a burden. Distant. Lonely. Bitter. Heartbroken. Rejected. Crushed. I feel like I'm going to just fall apart at any moment. Empty. Defeated._

 _Abandoned._

 _Never. Good. Enough._

 _…_

"I'm **Fine**."

She woke up sweating cold, her heart pounding in her chest so fast that she could have been running just a second ago. A hand raised in the air, as she was about to reach something. Or someone.

Her arm fell down at her side with a deaf sound as she let scape a growl of anger through her clenched teeth. It wasn't the first time Chloe Price dreamed about herself chasing a ghost through the forest. She had been dreaming that for six months now, more or less. And maybe that's what she's been doing in real life too.

Her eyes rested for a moment on the missing posters, stacked up in a disorderly pile over a nearby box. What was the point? She wrapped almost every inch of Arcadia Bay with them and nothing changed. Nobody had seen Rachel, like the girl had vanished in the air. Where was she now? Why she left? Did something happen to her? Why did she abandoned her like that? She was her friend, her angel, the girl that saved her in more ways than one; when everything seemed out of control, when she felt her life had reached a dead end...

Chloe clenched her jaw to avoid the tears that never came. It's been awhile since the last time her eyes were wet. She was over that kind of pain at this point.

A buzz from her phone cut dry her depressing line of thought. She rolled over and took the device from the pillow beside her and checked her messages. Reading the name of the sender made her feel uneasy and gross. And utterly angry.

 **[Received - Monday 10/07 12:42]**

 **[From: N. Prickscott]**

What do u want now?

She tried not to think about the last time she actually saw the guy. She didn't remember the facts very well to be honest, and that creeped the hell out of her in a way that wasn't easy to describe. She was at that bar, sitting with him on the counter, trying to figure out how to steal the greens in his wallet. She faked laughs and smiles, even tried to flirt a little with the guy she knew was the son of the biggest bastard this side of Oregon. The kid was too wasted and kept flashing bills like there was no tomorrow and she had dealt with danger before… she just had to push her luck a little, maybe that way she could just pay her debts and be over with the town she always hated.

Or at least, the town she hated for the last five years.

And just when things seemed to be looking up a little, everything became a blur. She woke up in a room she didn't recognize, dark and creepy, with the guy literally over her with a camera between his hands and an evil grin of satisfaction on his face.

The memory made her shiver. _Ugh._

 **[Sent: Monday 10/07 12:45]**

 **[To: N. Prickscott]**

We have business to discuss. You'll have to give me something in exchange for my silence, at least if you are still interested in keeping the good rich kid act for this shithole of a town.

 **[Received: Monday 10/07 12:46]**

 **[From: N. Prickscott]**

Don't mess with me, bitch. Where?

The girl ran her trembling fingers through her short blue hair while thinking. She needed to be sure she'd be more or less safe, but at the same time, meeting with Nathan Prescott in a public place to blackmail him wasn't an option.

She sighed and she knew there was only one place that would do. Even if it was weird.

 **[Sent: Monday 10/07 12:47]**

 **[To: N. Prickscott]**

I'll meet you at Blackhell's this afternoon. Girls bathroom, main building, at four o'clock. You better show up.

 **[Received: Monday 10/07 12:47]**

 **[From: N. Prickscott]**

Whatevs

She let her phone fall again over the pillow and hid her face behind her hands as she growled deeply.

 _"_ _You can do this."_ She said to herself, trying to sound confident. _"You can fucking do this."_

And with those words still ringing in her head, she got up and finally started to move.

She couldn't deny the lump in her throat and the awful feeling in her chest that something was not right. Not that she didn't feel it all the time, but this was different. It wasn't pain, anger or despair like she usually felt every day. There was more to it, like something ominous was going on, but she couldn't identify what it was.

 _"_ _Keep it together, Chloe."_ She said to herself, trying to steady her breath as she walked from the parking lot to the main building of the school she knew so well.

Classes were over at this point. She crossed paths with various students leaving the campus, some of them smiling, others were worried about stupid things, no doubt. She knew too well that teenage drama never gets old at Blackwell Academy.

Chloe entered the building and approached the girl's bathroom on the lower floor. Her hand was kind of shaky when she took the handle of the door. She took another deep breath, trying to wipe away that awful feeling that grew bigger and bigger with every step she took.

 _"_ _You got this."_ She thought. _"You fucking got this…"_

She opened the door and stepped in, her eyes alert and every single one of her nerves on fire.

The adrenaline was already running through her system when her eyes stumbled on the guy, leaning over one of the sinks on the wall. Her anxiousness evaporated in half a second, leaving in it's place an almost unbearable anger.

"So, what do you want?" Growled Nathan, looking at her through the mirror.

She shut the door behind her and looked around. She walked near the stalls and checked inside some of them, with the odd feeling that someone was watching them. A chill ran over her neck.

"I hope you checked the perimeter, as my step-ass would say." The girl snapped in anger. "Now, let's talk bidness."

She looked away from Nathan's back when she saw at the corner of her eye, a subtle movement at the back of the room. A single blue butterfly flew from behind a stall and landed softly over the last sink, moving its wings lazily.

"I've got nothing for you." Nathan said, coldly.

Those words only made Chloe's anger worse.

"Wrong. You got hella cash." She said, fixing her piercing blue eyes full of hate on Nathan's reflection in the mirror. She could see him looking back at her, his eyes reddish and also hateful. There was a spark on them that she couldn't place. Anger maybe? Not knowing how to decipher Nathan's blank expression gave her the creeps for a moment.

"That's my family, not me." He answered.

"Oh boo hoo, poor little rich kid." Chloe mocked him. "I know you've been pumpin' drugs n' shit to the kids around here…"

She walked towards him and leaned over the same sink the guy was grabbing with both hands, his knuckles white. Their faces were just inches apart.

"I bet your respectable family would help me out if I went to them. Man, I can see the headlines now…"

Those words made that unidentified spark in Nathan's eyes intensify as he breathed in sharply. Chloe could see his hands trembling over the sink.

"Leave them out of this, bitch." He said, her voice drenched in anger.

 _"_ _Let's see who's the fucking bitch, asshole."_

"I can tell everybody Nathan Prescott is a punk ass who begs like a little girl and talks to himself…"

Chloe's anger dissipated the very moment she pushed Nathan by the arm and the guy, standing up, took something from his jacket. Her confusion became fear when she recognized the silhouette of a gun. Nathan pointed it right to her face.

"You don't know who the fuck I am or who you're messing around with!"

She raised her hands, looking around for an escape route that she never found. The awful feeling in her chest, the very same that had been tormenting her all the way to Blackwell, came back stronger than ever. But just for a little second, and maybe it was just the adrenaline flowing wildly through her system; the inappropiate feeling of a deja vu struck her.

"Where'd you get that ? What are you doing ? Come on, put that thing down"!

Seconds later, her fear became actual panic when Nathan pinned her down against the wall, with the gun resting over her stomach. She grabbed his wrist, fighting in vain to draw the weapon away from her.

"Don't EVER tell me what to do." Nathan said, his face inches away from hers, and his wild eyes fixed on her own. That spark made sense now. It wasn't anger or hate not even fear. It was madness. "I'm so SICK of people trying to control me"!

"You're going to get in hella more trouble for this than drugs…"

"Nobody would ever even miss your "punk ass" would they?"

 _"_ _That's it"_ She thought in panic. _"This is the end of the line. Oh, god, what the hell was I thinking getting myself into this fucking mess!"_

She heard a lot of people say that when you're about to die, your entire life flashes in front of your eyes. But it wasn't true, at least not for her. She didn't see her life going backwards, she didn't see her father or her childhood playing again in her mind.

The only thing she could think of was a person. And that made something in Chloe's mind snap, because it didn't make any sense. She could have thought about her father, her mother, Rachel… but her mind only brought the little thirteen year old Max Caulfield to the scene.

 _"_ _She's never leaving me!"_

"Get that gun away from me, psycho!"

She lost control, the adrenaline making her body work to free herself and escape the danger. She pushed Nathan away with all her strength… and for a moment it was like time itself stopped.

A deafening sound, a burning sensation in her stomach… and pain. So much pain...

 _"_ _I'm gonna die like this?"_ A fast succession of thoughts ran through her mind on her way down. _"That's it? I'm gonna die here alone… and nobody cares about it. Nobody. Life is… so not fair…"_

Her knees failed and she collapsed in what seemed like slow motion when her eyes caught movement behind her attacker.

"NO!"

A girl stepped out from behind the last stall and her voice reached Chloe's ears just before she finally hit the ground.

Her thoughts were slow and heavy, her sight was a blur… but she recognized her. She wanted to scream her name but her voice never came to her aid.

 _"_ _... Max?"_

The blue butterfly flew away and everything went black and finally painless.


	2. It's been that kind of day

**Chapter 2: Its being that kind of day**

 **1st Alternative Universe: Monday 10/07. Afternoon.**

[...]

"Nobody would ever even miss your "punk ass" would they?"

" _That's it"_ She thought in panic. " _This is the end of the line. Oh, god, what the hell was I thinking getting myself into this fucking mess!"_

She heard a lot of people say that when you're about to die, your entire life flashes in front of your eyes. But it wasn't true, at least not for her. She didn't see her life going backwards, she didn't see her father or her childhood playing again in her mind.

The only thing she could think of was a person. And that made something in Chloe's mind snap, because it didn't make any sense. She could have thought about her father, her mother, Rachel… but her mind only brought the little thirteen year old Max Caulfield to the scene.

" _She's never leaving me!"_

A deafening sound cut through her line of thought. A siren rang all over the place, tripping them out. Nathan looked around in confusion, trying to understand what was going on.

"No way…"

He lowered his gun unconsciously.

That was the chance Chloe was looking for. The escape route, the way out. As an instinctive reflex, she raised her knee and hit the Nathan on his crotch and pushed him away from her with shaky hands. The kid stumbled and fell on his back over the white floor.

The moment she felt the gun no longer pressed against her body, anger rolled over her like a train and pushed to the back of her mind all the fear and stress she endured the last couple of minutes.

"DON'T EVER TOUCH ME AGAIN, FREAK!" she shouted and left the bathroom as fast as she could, slamming the door behind her.

Chloe ran. She stepped out stumbling from the main building and kept running, looking over her shoulder for like what felt like the hundredth time, making sure Nathan wasn't following her. The coast was clear to her relief and she headed to the gym, crossing the little green park full of curious students attracted by the awful noise of the fire alarm.

"Holy shit, holy shit!" She mumbled, still trying to understand what exactly happened in that bathroom. "Damn stupid rich kid! He could've… I could've…"

She reached her destination just in time. Her knees hit the dry grass behind the gym, a spot she knew well, it was hidden from the crowd. She spent most of her last semester in Blackwell in this very same spot, usually blazing out with Rachel or Justin or just somebody.

Now, she was back there again, all by herself, sweating and trying to fight the need to throw up.

"You're fine. You're fine." She said, hugging herself in search for comfort. Of course it didn't work.

"Get your shit together ! Damn it. Damn it…"

For the next couple of minutes, she felt more aware of her own body than ever before, for as far back as she could remember.

The weight of her knees, pressing against the dry and unattended grass. The sweat rolling down her face in little crystal like drops. The air coming in and out of her lungs, hurting it's way in, but less and less every time she breathed and the adrenaline, still flying through her system, dissipating with every frenetic heartbeat against her ribs; every one of them screaming silently "I'm alive. I'm alive. I'm alive."

She has been in danger before. She has dealt with a lot of crazy situations with other people, like dealers and creeps. But not even when she was beaten or arguing with a guy in a back alley, was she ever so close to being killed, and she knew it.

Not because the danger wasn't there during those situations. It was that wild spark in Nathan's eyes… the guy was totally out of himself. He could have fired the gun even if he didn't want to, just out of the stress he seemed to be under in the moment.

She didn't know who was the person who decided that moment was perfect for the classic prank of pulling the fire alarm, but she hella owed them big time.

"Nathan Prescott, please come to the Principal's office."

The voice on the loudspeakers made her jump a little and those words made a thousand thoughts go through her mind in just seconds. If the principal was calling Nathan to his office, he may know something happened, besides a stupid and opportune prank with the fire alarm. But how did the principal know ? Someone told him ? Someone actually saw them ?

Chloe growled in frustration. Of course, Nathan would deny everything and with his family to back him up with a shitload of money, their "exchange" in the bathroom would keep being unnoticed.

Unnoticed like Rachel's disappearance and every single dark secret in Arcadia Bay.

She crawled to the wall and laid her back against it for a moment, a sigh escaping though her lips.

She tried not to think about her thoughts in the bathroom. Deep inside, she knew she was still lying to herself about a couple of things, but the near death experience just reminded her about that.

It took at least another couple of minutes to finally get rid of the adrenaline and sickness in her system. Then, she decided she had enough of "Blackhell" for a while. She had a lot of things to worry about without adding crazy rich kids and bullets.

But it seemed that her day wasn't going to end as soon as she hoped.

Chloe got around the gym and jumped off the high flowerbed that separated the back of the building from the parking lot, where she had left her truck not long ago.

She noticed that she had parked the vehicle taking not only one but two handicapped parking spaces and shook her head with disdain. It's not like there were people who used those in Blackwell, as far as she knew, but the fact that she actually parked so carelessly showed that the anxiety had gotten the better of her, very clearly.

She jumped in and tried to relax in the wearied and soft leather of the driver's seat when something in the rearview mirror caught her attention. At the other side of the parking lot, a boy and a girl were resting against the bump of an old blue car, talking.

The girl seemed familiar somehow, but Chloe couldn't exactly place her face, much less at that distance. She seemed worried though.

No doubt it had something to do with Nathan Prescott, since he appeared nearby and walked straight toward them, his wild eyes fixed on the petite brunette.

Chloe shook her head, turned on the truck and turned the vehicle, ready to get the hell away from Nathan Prickscott's little kingdom, when shit went down.

She saw the perfect moment when Prescott headbutted the guy, making him fall to the floor and grab his face with both hands. Nathan was ready to hit the boy again when the brunette girl tried to stop him, grabbing his arm.

Chloe's blood set on fire when she saw Prescott turn around and grab the girl by her neck violently.

" _No fucking way you're hurting someone else today, asshole!"_ She thought, her feet already on the throttle, pushing hard.

The truck made a loud, painful noise when it jumped ahead and almost ran over the girl, who had managed to scratch Nathan's face and release herself from his grip.

A flash of panic ran through Chloe as she kicked the breaks with all her strength. The brunette girl helped herself up, resting over the cap of the truck and her eyes met Chloe's…

Time froze. Or something like that. It was less than a second, but the situation caught Chloe so off guard that she couldn't quite believe her eyes. She could feel her own lips moving, articulating a name she hadn't pronounced out loud in months, even if it never left her thoughts.

"Max?!" She asked, taking note of every single detail of the girl's face.

She was Max Caulfield, no doubt about that. She could recognize that girl anywhere, even if they were five years apart. Even if there was only a hint of the shy little girl she remembered. Because she was Max Caulfield, yes, but all grown up.

"Chloe"?! The brunette said, her eyes fixed on Chloe's face, like she was having the same thought.

But Nathan's voice broke the spell and snapped both girls back to the present.

"No way… you again?!"

When Nathan approached Max again, the other boy got up and tackled him to the floor.

"Warren!"

"Go ! Go ! I've got this ! UGH!"

Nathan started to beat the boy furiously on the ground, while Chloe shook her head and opened the passenger's door as fast as she could. Max was staring at the boys, not quite sure what to do, with the horror spread all over her face.

"Get in, Max"! Chloe demanded, waving her hand desperately, trying to caught the girl's attention.

After a moment of hesitation, Max got into the truck, just in time to avoid the kick Nathan threw at her. He hit the truck's door shut instead, waving his arms and shouting like crazy, with his wild eyes fixed on the girls inside the truck.

"Get your punk asses out of there now!" He shouted furiously. "Don't even try to run!"

But Chloe had already kicked hard the throttle and the truck left the parking lot and Nathan behind with a screech sound and a dark cloud of dust and gas.

Chloe drove for an entire minute in silence, with both hands fixed on the steering wheel. She could see through the corner of her eye how Max was trying to look behind them, anxiously moving side to side, incapable of seeing the parking lot anymore. Finally, she desisted and rested her head against the soft fabric of the seat, sighing deeply.

"Man, Nathan Prescott is messed up!" She said. "And dangerous… This day never ends…"

" _You can say that again… Max Caulfield attending Blackhell, back in Arcadia Bay. I don't know if it's a dream or a nightmare"_

"Oh, and thanks Chloe!" The blue haired girl said ironically, shaking her head in disbelief. "After five years you're still Max Caulfield."

Max lowered her head and fixed her gaze on her shoes, an awfully sad expression darkened her factions, partially hidden by her soft brown hair.

Even if she was angry, furious and knew she could snap at any moment now, after all the stress she endured the last couple of hours (or months for that matter), Max's guilty expression softened her more than she expected. A blurry memory of a shy little girl with a ponytail trying to hide a wine stain on a carpet assaulted her and even if she wanted to yell and be furious, she just couldn't.

She was incapable of hating Max Caulfield, no matter what. Nothing new here.

"Don't give me the guilty face." She said, punching Max's shoulder softly. Her voice was kind of… cheerful, something she didn't anticipate. It sounded off and nothing like her. "At least pretend you're glad to see me."

A little smile curled up her lips. It felt odd, like the muscles of her face had forgotten how exactly they were supposed to work to produce a smile.

"I am seriously glad to see you." Max replied, smiling a little too. Her voice sounded like a weird mix of joy and… relief ? Her eyes lingered on Chloe's face just for a second, then they went back to examine her sneakers. "Oh, and thanks, Chloe. It makes perfect sense I'd see you today."

"Yes, it's been that kind of day." Chloe said, looking at her.

She stared for a moment, maybe trying to make sure Max was really there, just sitting inches away from her. If someone would told her that morning her day would be that strange, she would have told them to fuck off. Now ? She wasn't so certain.

"So what did that freak want with you?" The punk fixed her eyes on the road again. For a moment she thought it was really odd how hard it was to keep them looking forward.

"Hopefully nothing after today." Max said. "So, how do you know Nathan?"

" _Well, that's quite the question, isn't it?"_

"He's just another Arcadia asshole." She replied bitterly, dodging the subject. "Your friend really took a beatdown for you."

"Warren? Yeah, I owe him big time."

"You're not the only one in debt, and you're already causing trouble." Chloe said coldly, her humor getting darker and darker once the brief shock of the reunion passed.

If Max was attending Blackwell, then that meant she was around almost a month. And not even then she send a text or called… what the hell ?

"I thought it would be quiet here. Feels so weird to be back…"

But she was back, wasn't she ? A little spark of hope grew into Chloe's chest. She tried to kill it as fast as it appeared.

"So I guess Seattle sucked hard?"

"I guess. It was cool but… I felt kinda lonely, out of my league."

" _Lonely. Yeah fucking right."_

"I would think you'd fit right in with the art school hipsters…"

A moment of tense silence settled while Chloe narrowed her eyes in anger, looking up front at the road.

"Right. You look like the cover of Hipster Girl dot com." Max said, a little smile on her tone.

Chloe had to make a big effort to avoid the temptation to snort.

"At least you're still a smartass." She said with a sharp edge to her voice.

Like she thought before, even if five years had passed, Max seemed to be the same girl, only all grown up. But Chloe ? She knew there was little left of her young and carefree self. Maybe she was still there, buried somewhere deep inside, but it's been years since she came up to the surface.

Max sighed… and then smiled again.

"I am. And yeah, Seattle sucked in a way… That's why I'm here". Max replied happily.

That affirmation made Chloe's anger boil a little more.

"Please, girl. You came back for Blackwell Academy."

" _Not for your best friend, the one you abandoned five years ago when her father died. Of course you didn't come back for her, why would you ? Even if she wanted you to… even if she lo-… ugh, don't fucking go there."_

"Of course. It's one of the best photography programs in the country…"

" _Like I said. Who the fuck cares"?_

"And my favorite teacher, Mark Jefferson."

She couldn't resist the urge to spit some of the venom burning her insides. She was grabbing the steering wheel like a lifeline, her knuckles white.

"So you came back to Arcadia for a teacher… not your best friend." She said coldly, frowning with so much strength that a soft wrinkle would be tattooed on her skin if she didn't stop.

"Don't you think I'm happy to see you?"

That single sentence made her snap.

"No". She said plainly. "You were happy to wait five years without a call, or even a text."

"I'm sorry... " Max apologized, and she really seemed to feel bad about it. But it wasn't enough. It'd never be enough. "I know things were tough on you when I left."

" _Tough? TOUGH? you have no fucking clue, don't you ? Things were a fucking nightmare when you left me, alone and abandoned, even after I told you I… shit. I can't go there. Not now."_

"How do you know ? You weren't even here."

"I didn't order my parents to move specifically to fuck you over, Chloe." Max's words were hard, but her voice was soft, drenched in guilt.

"You've been at Blackwell for almost a month without letting me know." Chloe said, shaking her head. "'Nuff said."

"I just wanted to settle in first and not be such a shy cliché geek." Max tried to explain herself but it was no use. "I totally would have contacted you…"

Chloe was too angry to deal with that bullshit at the moment. Her mind was a total chaos, trying to sort out the mixed feelings. There was no way she could trust Max's word, not after all those years of radio silence. And her excuse was so lame it even pissed her off more, if possible.

"I bet you don't use these sad excuses on Mr. Jefferson… Don't use them on me, Max."

Her poisonous comment was answered with only silence and tension. Suddenly, the cab of the truck seemed too small for both of them. The tension was so awfully thick that Chloe felt it almost physically, like a presence.

She forced herself to relax the grip on the steering wheel and release some of the tension accumulated.

" _I'd kill for a cigarette right now…"_ She thought. " _Or a joint. I think I have a little left. Ugh, I need to pay Frank back or he will hunt me down. Rachel surely could talk him out of it, but… damn, here we go again with this. I can't deal with all this at the same time. FUCK."_

Max's soft voice snapped her out of her line of thought.

"Broken. Aw man, are you cereal?"

" _C'mon, Chloe! Stop it!" Thirteen year old Max said, shouting like crazy, her hands firmly holding to the chains of the swing._

" _Dude, I'm sure I can make you swing all the way around ! Don't be a chicken"! Fourteen year old Chloe replied, pushing the younger girl higher and higher on the swing. Her arms hurt and she could feel the sweat rolling down her forehead because of the effort._

" _Aw man, are you cereal"?! Young Max almost screamed when she lost her balance and started to shake her thin legs in the air. The panic took over her voice, but it was drown by Chloe's laugh._

"Wow, I haven't heard that one in awhile..." Chloe said, snapping out of that memory as fast as she could. Remembering that stuff always made her heart ache awfully, but this time… it wasn't so painful as she thought.

"Not everything changes". Max said. Chloe raised her eyebrows at that statement. "Except my camera has officially taken a shit".

" _Not everything changes, huh"?_ Chloe thought, looking at Max for a moment. She considered that for a couple of seconds and finally she smiled. Or at least tried. " _Yeah… maybe you're right about that. Maybe I… fuck this"._

"My step-douche has a boatload of tools…" She stole a quick glance to the brunette and fixed her eyes back on the road. "Maybe you can fix it in my place…"

"I need very specific tiny tools" Said Max, looking at her with a serious expression.

"Nerd alert"! Chloe snorted. "My stepdad has a fully stocked garage. And he actually is a tiny tool."

Jokes. Irony. Sarcasm. Anger. All of it hidden behind a patented grin.

" _Chloe Price in a nutshell."_

The brunette looked away through the window and Chloe couldn't avoid the urge to look at her. She was so familiar, so close… and so distant and different at the same time. But she was there, just inches away and even with all the anger still rampaging inside her, another almost not forced smile appeared on her face.

" _Fuck i missed you so bad…", She thought._

"Welcome home, Max."


	3. Angel

**Chapter 3: Angel**

 **1st Alternative Universe: Monday 10/07. Late Afternoon.**

The rest of the ride was silent, but despite Chloe's internal rage, it was not unpleasant. She expected a cold and awkward silence filling the air, like a physical presence between them but that never happened. It was… odd, considering the circumstances.

From time to time, Chloe couldn't help but steal quick glances of Max, as if she was trying to convince herself she wasn't looking at a mirage of some sort. Like she was trying to convince herself that this girl was real and right there, just inches away from her.

They arrived at the house that Chloe had lived in her whole life. She loved it, because it was like a physical token of her memories. And she also hated it for the same reason.

Like always, she parked the truck in front of the garage, killed the engine and jumped out of the cab, closing the door behind her with her boot.

She approached the door, guarded by the United States flag, waving lazily with the soft coastal breeze of the afternoon. Her eyes wandered for a moment over the unfinished paint job on the front of the house and shook her head in a vain attempt to kill a bad thought.

She searched in her pockets for the key and just then, noticed that Max wasn't behind her. The brunette was still near the truck, looking a little nervous.

"Come on in, don't be shy." Chloe said, her voice a little down.

It seems her mood wasn't going to leave any time soon at this point, even if she promised herself to take the chance.

"The house still looks… nice."

Chloe snorted at the statement and opened the door widely.

"Home shit home."

Chloe stepped in and closed the door behind Max once she was inside. Without wasting time, she started to climb the stairs, two steps at a time. She could almost feel Max's eyes fixed on her back as she reached the upper floor and entered her room, opening the door widely without much ceremony.

"My room looks a bit different than the last time you saw it…"

 _The two girls were sitting on the single bed on the far side of the room. An awkward silence filled the air, barely contained by the soft and clean purple walls._

 _The taller girl, with her strawberry blond hair falling over her back like a waterfall had her blue eyes red and puffy from crying so much. The tears were still there, eager to fall again for the thousandth time in just a matter of hours._

 _The funeral just ended, and now the remains of William Price were six feet underground, with a cold marble plaque over where his head was supposed to be._

 _And the fourteen year old Chloe felt as cold as that heavy stone, still trying to understand why her world had just fractured and lost part of it's meaning. If not all of it._

 _Thirteen year old Max scooted closer to her and held her tight with her slim arms, capturing her in a hug that felt like a lifeline at the moment. The only thing holding Chloe's broken pieces together. Yes, the world was indeed a very empty place for her right now. But if she had to think about anything besides that… it was this clumsy little shy girl holding her right now._

 _The remnants of a warm feeling in her guts struck her again, as the already known butterflies hiding inside her raised flight._

" _I am so sorry, Chloe." Max said with her voice broken and the tears starting to fall again. "I am so, so sorry…"_

Chloe shook her head and approached the bed, trying to get rid of the last bits of the memory. She let herself fall onto it, looking at how Max entered the room behind her, her body language making clear that she didn't feel comfortable at all being there after everything that happened. Or didn't happen.

The brunette looked around for a moment, absorbing the essence of the room around her. The graffiti, the posters, the mess on the floor, the desk almost covered entirely by papers, ashtrays and empty bottles, the American flag hanging lazily over the window… There was no sign left of Chloe's old room.

The punk cracked up an eyebrow when she saw a soft smile appear in Max's face.

"Its cool." She said. "At least we can chill out."

Chloe snorted at the statement, while leaning over her left side taking the ashtray resting over the night table, or box for that matter, near the messy double bed. The joint she left last night was still there, waiting for her return, and after shit got real not long ago, she couldn't help but actually need it's bitter and strong scent flowing through her.

"This isn't exactly my "chill out zone"... My step-fuhrer makes sure of that. Come in and close the door. Put on some music while I medicate."

Chloe lit the joint and took a long deep drag of it, closing her eyes for a moment. She could hear Max snooping around her room and tried not to think about how awkward and odd the whole situation was. Max could just go away again like last time, or worse. Max being in Arcadia Bay could hurt her in more than one way but she decided to give it a shot anyway.

" _Not everything changes"_ Max had said… and Chloe couldn't agree more, due the stupid flips her guts were doing for the last half an hour.

"So… Tell me…" She said, opening her eyes and looking at Max, who was looking at the height marks over the wall nearby. "What does Max Caulfield do for fun now that she's a grown-up?"

"Not much." Max replied with a little voice. "You know me. I like to observe the world more than participate…"

Chloe snorted again, looking away as she played a little with the joint between her fingers.

"So, I take photos." She continued. "Of me, the world, everything. It may sound sad, but I have a blast."

" _C'mon, Chloe!" Eleven year old Max complained, holding the the retro camera with both hands in a tense posture, like she was afraid to drop it and break it. "I know your dad let me use it but I need to return it soon and I can't take the picture if you keep moving so much!"_

" _But it's way too fun to stop, Max"! Chloe said, lowering her foot over the back of the skateboard and grasping it in midair when it jumped. "Besides, wouldn't it be awesome if you snapped the pic when I'm in the air? That would be so badass"!_

" _Yeah, I know but I'm not fast enough". Replied Max with a sad tone, frowning at the camera for a moment. "And I don't want to waste all the film taking photos of nothing. I suck"._

" _Hey, it's okay". Chloe said softly, noticing Max sudden change of humor. "You already take great pictures. And you will get better with practice. One day you will be able to catch me being one hundred percent badass flying on this bad boy. But until then… C'mon"!_

 _Chloe made a goofy smile and winked an eye and stayed still for a couple of seconds, holding that pose and hoping to make the brunette snap the picture._

" _Come on, Maxaroni" She mumbled, barely opening her mouth to not ruin the pose. "I can't be still all day…"_

 _Max laughed and raised the old camera, shaking a little due her anxiousness._

" _Say cheese!"_

" _Cheese!"_

"It doesn't sound that sad…" Chloe replied, looking away.

"I'm happiest when I've got a great image in my lens. I'm not lonely, not afraid…"

"That's more inspiring." Chloe said, smiling at her a little. The remnants of that memory still warming her heart. "I don't feel so… totally hopeless."

After that, a deep silence ruled over the room while Max kept looking for a disc to put into the Hi-Fi. Chloe was still struggling to deal with those flashing memories that seemed to be common coin today.

" _It is that kind of day, huh"?_ She thought, kicking herself mentally for being so soft about it. She tried for a long time to bury all those memories in the back of her mind and never bring them up again. Rachel helped a lot with that.

Rachel…

" _Where is she ? Why did she leave ? Why didn't she take me with her ?"_

Those questions were always floating in her mind. For the past six months, there was no way to think about anything else. And now, she was in a position she never imagined possible.

Something snapped her out of her line of thought and when she realized, she was staring blankly at Max, who was kneeling at the foot of her bed, with a picture between her hands.

"Hey ! Give me that"! Chloe snapped furiously and scooted closer enough to take the picture from Max's hands, maybe with a little more strength than necessary.

"Sorry." Max apologized, her voice soft and regretful. "I wasn't trying to be nosey. Obviously she was a good friend…"

Chloe looked at the picture for a split second and then looked away. The image hurt her, making her heart pound heavy in her chest, making the anguish rise through it and tighten the lump in her throat.

The sight of Rachel looking at the camera with her hazel eyes, her blonde hair falling like a waterfall both sides of her face and the familiar blue feather hanging from her left ear…

The photograph was bent in the middle, hiding the other half. Hiding Chloe's half, looking angry and showing the finger, like always.

She placed the photo aside and held her head with her left hand, fighting the awful feeling rising from her chest. Anguish was even worse than real physical pain.

"That's putting it mildly…"

She saw at the corner of her eye how Max sat next to her on the bed, keeping a safe distance from her. Her body language showing how nervous and anxious she was. Like when they were kids, Chloe could read Max like an open book.

The punk looked away, cutting off a line of thought before it developed into something more and took another drag of the joint, letting the smoke fill her lungs and then exhaling a cloud over her head.

"That's Rachel Amber…" Max said with sad voice. "Her Missing Person posters are all over Blackwell."

"Yeah, I put them up." Chloe replied, fighting in vain with the sorrow-ish edge to her voice. "She… she was my angel. After my dad died and you moved, I felt abandoned…"

Chloe had her eyes fixed on the wooden floor nearby, and she closed them tight when another memory kicked in.

 _It was always a little windy at the cliff. The sun was setting, painting everything in gold and orange, making the metallic point of the lighthouse shine. As the sun went down, the orange became red, dying the blue ocean in a bloody tone._

 _Chloe was crying, her knees scraped after she fell on them, hugging herself in an attempt to hold all her pieces together. But there was no use. She was broken and she couldn't take it any more. Her dad was gone and her best friend abandoned her too._

 _A year and a half has passed and she never got a call, or a letter, not even a text message. It wasn't enough that she would never hear her dad's low and cheerful voice again. It wasn't enough that her mother chose to marry a prick to replace her dad._

 _It wasn't enough that she may never hear Max's laugh ever again or look at her deep dark-blue eyes, sparkling with emotion every time she saw that well known confident grin spreading over Chloe's face when she came up with a new, not always good, idea._

 _It never was enough for the universe and it's cruel, torturous games._

 _She approached the edge and looked down, where the waves crashed softly with the dark rocks, splashing against them. That wasn't her first time on that cliff, looking down, wondering..._

 _She felt empty, betrayed, abandoned… She knew she was all alone, that nobody cared. It was an awful feeling, unbearable, like someone had ripped her heart apart and left her there to bleed out._

 _She wished to be dead, because at that moment, she felt so fucking alive that the pain would overwhelm her, shatter her, destroy her in every way possible. She was done suffering._

 _A soft voice in her head was begging her to stop it, to put an end to that sorrow and loneliness. To put an end to this cruel games life seemed to love playing with her. She could almost hear it laugh maniacally, after taking everything from her._

 _She gave a step forward, extended her arms and was about to leap, to let go, to just… quit once and for all…_

" _You don't have to do this"_

 _Chloe almost fell off the cliff, startled by the soft and crystalline voice that interrupted her line of thought. There was worry on the edges of it, concern and fear._

 _Chloe looked over her shoulder slowly, her eyes filled by salty tears that were already streaming down her face. Her short blonde hair waved a little when another breeze from the ocean stroked over her._

 _A girl was standing there. A petite and slim girl, wearing an oversized shirt and ripped jeans. Her hair was blonde and long, waving furiously in the breeze. Chloe couldn't avoid her eyes, two beautiful big hazel eyes filled with fear and concern. Two caring eyes that didn't see her as the total fuck up she felt she was at that moment._

" _What do you want"? Chloe asked trying to sound intimidating. Her voice broke like it did when she was a little girl, crying over a broken vase._

" _Look, I don't know why you want to do that…" Said the girl, looking at the ocean for a moment and then fixing her eyes again on Chloe's. "But you don't have to."_

" _Yeah, I have to." Chloe replied, looking forward again, trying to gather back the courage the sudden_ _appearance of the girl seemed to have drove away. "I have nobody left. And no one cares if I die or not."_

" _I do". The girl said, with a bit of annoyance in her voice. "I know who you are and I care if you're alive or not, you know"?_

 _That make Chloe frown and turn around to face the girl with annoyance._

" _The hell you know me. You don't know shit!"_

" _I know you're Chloe Price, that you are attending Blackwell". Said the girl with an annoyance that matched Chloe's. She crossed her arms defensively. "We have literature together every monday. You… you once let me borrow your textbook."_

 _Chloe's eyes opened widely when the memory slapped her on the face. She remembered the girl, sitting uncomfortably at her left, too anxious to stay put and also too shy to actually say anything._

 _While she was doing nothing but wasting time in that class, the girl tried to keep up with the lecture, reading over her arm._

" _May I…"? The girl said, pointing at the book, a little ashamed._

" _Sure, whatever". Chloe replied and slid the book towards her._

 _They never spoke again and Chloe left without even bothering to retrieve the book._

" _Yeah, whatever. I let you use my book. What's your point?" Chloe snapped angrily, still trying to gather her resolve._

" _You didn't have to let me use it." The girl replied plainly. "I'm new here, I don't have any friends. I was bullied on a daily basis and you were the only one that helped me, even if you didn't know at the time. I wanted to say thank you and talk to you but you left. So, like I said, I have no idea why you want to jump off there… but I assure you, it's not the same for me if you do it or not."_

" _And why not ? I'm nothing special. I'm just a burden for everyone. I'm all alone and nobody wants me near. Why would you care?"_

" _Because I'm alone too." The girl replied. "And maybe you are special, maybe not… but I'd love to find out. Please."_

 _Those words worked like a spell on Chloe's mind. She looked down at the ocean, coming and going, clashing with the rocks meters away from her and… she just couldn't do it._

" _Fuck…" She muttered and her knees met the grass again._

 _The sobs came and shook her body violently as the tears started to fall again like waterfalls down her face. She covered it with both hands and shook the adrenaline away._

 _A pair of hands grabbed her by the back of her shoulders and held her firmly. It wasn't a hug, no. It was more like a friendly reminder. "I'm here. I'm with you"._

 _Once Chloe finally calmed down and the sobs turned into lonely tears, she raised her puffy blue eyes and looked at the girl beside her. She smiled a little, visibly shy._

" _Who are you?" Chloe asked, her voice raspy and broken._

" _I'm Rachel. Rachel Amber"._

"... Rachel saved my life".

"Man, I had no idea…" Max replied, still looking away.

That answer only made Chloe's burning anger rise again, unstoppable and relentless.

" _Of course you don't fucking know."_

"Well, you never made much effort to find out". Chloe said, her voice sounding way less bitchy than she intended. "I was fourteen, we were best friends…"

"I never forgot", Max said, daring to look her right in the eyes for the first time she entered in the room. "Even if I was an asshole and didn't keep in touch".

" _And you expect me to buy that bullshit"?_

"But… you had Rachel".

"Rachel had my back… We were gonna kick the world's ass". Chloe said, nodding. "You would laugh at how different we were… she wanted to be a star."

"She looks like a model" Observed Max.

" _She is so beautiful… so beautiful and gone. Fuck."_

"That was her plan. _Our_ plan. Get the hell out of Bigfootville, and into Los Angeles."

"So, what happened? Did your folks… your mom, try to stop you"?

Max's voice was filled with genuine interest, to Chloe's annoyance. She shook her head, cursing internally that some things didn't actually change.

"My mom was too busy hooking up with Sergeant Shithead". Chloe said with anger.

"I feel the love…"

" _Huh, smartass.."_

"Now, when did Rachel actually disappear?"

Chloe sighed.

"Six months ago. She just… left Arcadia. Without a word. Without… me".

She kicked herself mentally for thinking that Rachel actually did that. She hated feeling that pain, that awful anguish in her chest every time she realized that was indeed possible. That Rachel actually left, alone. That Rachel actually left her behind, too.

"What about her parents"? Max asked. "Are they looking for her"?

Chloe shook her head. She never liked Rachel's parents to be honest. Her mom was okay but her dad was a total douche. Even worse than David sometimes and _that_ was certainly a mark to break.

"They are in denial". Chloe replied, but it wasn't entirely true. Rachel's mom was little more than a zombie nowadays, walking around town, crying in silence. Her father… well… he was not exactly the caring type. "Max, I know she's missing."

"I… assume you know more than that".

" _It seems like I'm one open fucking book now, huh?"_

"Before Rachel left, she said she met somebody who changed her life…" Chloe admitted, shrugging a little. "Then poof"!

"And you haven't heard anything from her since"?

Max voice was so… caring. So worried, for real, about what Chloe was saying. Worried about Rachel, like the girl knew her or something. It was weird and kinda… kinda like the Max she always knew. The Max that held her when William died… and the same that kept a painful radio silence for five years.

"Like everybody in my life." Chloe said, her voice bitter. "My dad, you… and Rachel. Gone…"

Too painful, too heavy, too hard. Not even the joint was helping.

She felt like drowning in anguish again, the same anguish that she carried every single day, but she kept pushing away with her bad habits. She was always trying to escape her own feelings, her own thoughts… her own memories.

And like always, that anguish came with another feeling. The inexplicable urge to push people away. Even if part of her was grateful for Max return, and that little ray of bright hope of her being back in her life, in any way, really existed inside of her heart… it was like she went numb, unable to distinguish cheap politeness and faked smiles from genuine affection. It made sense, of course.

Or at least she thought it did.

Chloe shook her head in anger and sadness.

"Can you put on some music now?" She begged, wishing in the deep corners of her heart that Max would actually get the fuck up and just leave her alone.

And she did. The brunette shot one last sad look at her and got up slowly, almost carefully. She walked to the hi-fi at the other side of the room, put the disc in and hit play.

The very moment the sweet and soft tunes of an acoustic guitar filled the air, Chloe felt like her own pain, her own anguish were turned into music all of the sudden. She laid down again, her knees bent, and took the joint back to her lips with a trembling hand.

She dragged one, two, three puffs in rapid succession, begging that the weed finally kicked in and shut her brain down, killing those awful thoughts tormenting her.

She could almost feel Max staring at her, even if she couldn't see her in that position.

" _Do I need to be more fucking obvious"?_

"Anyway… you can find tools to fix your camera in the garage…"

"Chloe… are you okay?"

" _What do you think, Sherlock?"_

"Sure. I'm awesome. I just want to blaze and be alone for a moment."

The boiling anger added a sharp edge to Chloe's voice that she expected it was enough to push Max away, at least for a while. She heard her sigh softly and leave the room slowly, closing the door behind her.

And Chloe hated herself for being a fuck up that always drives people away because she's not good enough. She'd never be good enough. She wasn't good enough for Rachel. And certainly, she wasn't good enough for Max either.


	4. Shitty gun control

**Chapter 4: Shitty gun control**

 **1st Alternative Universe: Monday 10/07. Late Afternoon.**

For the next weirdly long moments, Chloe stared at the ceiling, partially hidden behind the cloud of smoke pending over her head. The soft tunes of the hi fi filled the air and her mind was miles away already, not high enough to get lost in the cracks of the ceiling or in the curious forms the smoke curled into, but enough to realize something she was trying to hide, even from herself.

The realization that the plot of her life didn't make sense to her anymore. The weird fact that she thought at some point that she was following the arc of a story, but she kept finding herself immersed in passages she didn't understand, almost like they didn't even belong to the same genre.

The fact that Rachel vanished was one thing. Just another person that just got up and left without a word, just erased from her life brusquely and all of the sudden with no reason, no explanation. But the fact that someone actually came back to her; the fact that Max came back, after all the time she went unheard from, was strange.

The whole situation was as weird as it was unpredictable and she didn't know what to do with that. Or what to do with the weird feelings in her gut, the constant chills over her skin and the fact that she already knew the battle was lost before she even started to fight it.

Max came back a bit later, carrying with her a set of screwdrivers. Probably found them in the garage, among step douche piles of mainly crap. Chloe took special care in not stare at the brunette when the girl sat down on the desk and started to work on her camera.

Soon, the soft tunes of the guitar died and the room was filled with a weirdly awkward silence, keeping their company. It was only interrupted by the occasional frustrated sounds emitted by Max, more and more often until she leaned back on the chair with a sigh, letting go of the tool and running her fingers through her hair.

After a moment of hesitation, Chloe extinguished her joint on the ashtray and got up, walking slowly to the desk.

"And"? She asked Max, just a second before she actually could see the disappointment on her friend's face.

"I can't fix this thing" The smaller girl complained, moving the camera around with soft care, almost like it was a living being that was fatally injured. She leaned over the desk and sighed in sadness.

Chloe left the ashtray over the desk and walked around Max, her eyes suddenly stuck on the little pile of polaroids resting next to Max's arm.

"Are these your new photos"?

"Yeah… I just took them today".

"Let me see…"

Chloe took a look at the pictures. A skater boy on the floor, with a clear expression of pain on her face, a squirrel nibbling on a steel can, a statue that Chloe recognized from Blackwell and…

Almost like a reflex, she took the last of the polaroids on the pile. She recognized something in the picture that made her heart jump and start running at full speed. There was no mistake.

The picture featured the same odd blue butterfly.

"Wait… I've seen this before."

She looked at Max and a weird feeling in her chest exploded the moment the brunette avoided her look. Chloe let the picture fall over the desk again and leaned over Max, incapable of ignoring how guilty and awkward Max's expression was.

"Uh…"

"No way!" Said Chloe. "When did you take this ?! _You_ took this photo, you brat?!"

Max's face covered in guilt and anxiousness almost made her smile. It was like seeing that little girl she remembered when they got caught in the middle of an unauthorized wine testing session in the living room.

Max kept her mouth shut and that weird feeling Chloe experienced went ballistic.

"In the bathroom today… you set off the alarm ! That's why Nathan raged after you… it totally makes sense"!

For the first time after she came back to her room, Max looked at her right in the eyes. There was something else behind that guilty expression on her dark blue eyes. Something sad and… ominous even, like there was way more to it than just the fact that the brunette was actually the one who pulled the prank that saved her life.

The silence made Chloe's hands itch with anxiousness.

"Tell me the truth, Max."

"I was there… Hiding in the corner" Max confessed.

"Damn… you're a ninja!" A grin spread over Chloe's face at the moment she realized what was that weird feeling on her chest. Something she didn't feel in a long time, warm and soft, almost numbing her constant pain.

"A ninja would have cut Nathan's head off". Replied Max with a hint of anger in her voice. "I just took a butterfly photo…"

"That is so badass…"

"Oh yeah, I almost wet myself when I saw the gun…"

" _You and me both, sistah"_

"So, did you recognize me"? Chloe asked, trying to avoid going straight into a discussion about her fuck up and stupid decisions.

"I wasn't sure…"

"I know… I look a lot different".

" _I am different now. Maybe too different from who i was."_

"I was scared, too." Max admitted, her eyebrows coming together in a worried expression that seemed to be her trademark at this point. "I couldn't see straight. Like you said, it's been that kind of day".

Chloe crossed her arms over her chest and tried not to sigh in frustration about the whole situation. As much as she was grateful for, you know, not being dead, Max's presence in the bathroom shot an alarm in her head.

She wasn't sure if Max was trustworthy just yet, even if her heart was playing games, almost begging her mind to trust her again like no time has passed. There was no way Chloe made that mistake. Not yet.

"So… you must have overheard our conversation…" Assumed Chloe, with a sharp edge to her voice.

"Just a bit…"

"There is no way you didn't hear every single vowel" Replied Chloe, her tone harsh and angry, staring at the brunette with her eyebrows furrowed and her light blue eyes narrowed in mistrust.

"Okay, I only heard something about money, drugs… but that's it."

"Now for the big question". Chloe almost interrupted Max's weak attempts to reply confidently.

"Did you tell anybody?"

"No, I didn't know what to do…"

Chloe scanned Max's face, looking for any signs that the girl was lying. But nothing showed up on her face aside from worry and concern about what happened.

All of the sudden, she remembered that every time Max lied, a little wrinkle appeared between her eyebrows, like almost a neon sign giving her away. A wave of relief ran through Chloe's body in full as her eyes drifted off to the window, incapable of keep looking at Max's.

"I don't blame you…That's some intense shit."

"Maybe I should go to the principal." Said Max, not too convinced.

Chloe repressed a snort of frustration.

"The principal ? Are you still twelve"? That statement made her force her eyes upon Max's uncomfortable expression. "That drunk jackass only cares about cash for Blackwell Academy… don't trust him".

There was no way she could hide her hate against that clown of a principal.

"Seriously, I didn't blab to anybody. Promise".

After a moment of hesitation, Chloe left scape a sigh through her clenched teeth and tried to relax. There was no proof against believing what Max was saying. In fact, she had a point, if she talked with Wells or anyone, she'd know that by now.

Maybe that weird feeling, that she could only define as gratefulness, was messing with her instincts. But she knew very well at the moment that fighting that was not a possibility.

"Thank god… I'll tell you more someday, and I seriously owe you, Max".

A lonely thought came up in her mind suddenly. Maybe that feeling she tried unconsciously to fight, to avoid getting to the surface, was messing with her judgment. But at the moment, she didn't give a fuck about that. It felt right and also she knew William would approve, wherever he was.

She turned around and knelt near the disorganized bookcase, just below the hi fi. She moved around stuff for a moment, old photographs, old letters she never sent, old memories of a better time, now piled up in a messy fashion, gathering dust. Shadows of what once were.

Among them, she found what she was looking for. With her fingers trembling softly, she took the old polaroid camera. The weight was unfamiliar, alien even. It's been so many years since the last time she had the camera between her hands. It seemed way more bigger then.

"I, er… know it was your birthday last month…"

She got up, her back facing Max and looked at the camera and sighed. She knew it was the right thing to do but for some reason it was hard to really let that go. Maybe it was too soon but, that feeling in her chest, in her gut… She sighed once again and finally faced her old best friend, who was standing right there, looking at her in confusion.

" _C'mon… Not everything changes, right ? You made your choice already… What's the point of holding it back anymore"?_

"This was my real father's camera… I want you to have it".

She extended her arm and offered Max the camera, with a little smile on her face. Her gut jumped awkwardly the moment Max took it, brushing her fingers against Chloe's for a second.

A smile curled on Max's lips and a soft bright spot went alive in her eyes, looking at the camera as a lost memento of those good old days.

"That's so cool you remembered my birthday. But I can't take this..."

She offered the camera back to Chloe but the punk shook her head and pushed it back to Max's chest.

"Of course you can. My dad would be pissed if I never used it. And now I know it will be used awesomely."

Chloe reached out to her desk and took the butterfly picture from on top of it.

"And I'll snag this picture as a symbol of our reunion. Cool?"

She pocketed the picture in the back of her jeans and smiled at Max, whose lips curled up in a wide smile that made Chloe's heart skip a beat.

" _Yes. Not everything changes. Damn it."_

"Yes, of course it's cool! Thank you… This camera is so sweet"! The brunette said, taking a closer look to it.

" _I may go with this all the way then…"_

"Now that we got the mushy shit out of the way, I feel like stage diving"!

Chloe turned around and went straight to the Hi Fi. She pushed some buttons frantically and, only a second later, the powerful guitar tones of Sparklehorse filled the room as she pumped the volume to the max.

Even over the music, she could hear Max giggling.

"You're crazy"!

"Yep, yep, I'm fucking insane in the brain"! Chloe crooned enthusiastically, dancing her way wildly over to Max. She grabbed her by the arms for a moment and shook her a little, with a bright smile on her face.

"Let's dance ! Shake that boney white ass ! Or take my picture with your new camera"!

She went passed the brunette, took the joint from the ashtray. Then in a single motion, she lit it and jumped onto the bed as she took the rolled up joint to her lips.

She danced away, enjoying the light feeling of the weed running through her system and that warmth in her chest spreading to every single cell of her body.

Max's laugh filled her head like the smoke around her and she just let herself go, even if it was only for a moment. She fucking earned this after today.

The voice kicked in and washed away everything else. For a moment, it was like the rest of the world just faded. It actually felt like they were twelve years old again, young and… happy.

She blinked a couple of times when the flash of Max's camera went off.

"This song fucking rules!" She shouted over the music. "Can't dance, hippie ? Come on ! Rawk out, girl"!

Max laughed again, her eyes fixed on Chloe's and started to dance awkwardly, visibly ashamed of it. The blush creeped over her freckled cheeks as she tried to keep up with Chloe's wild rhythm.

"Yes ! Break it down, Max"!

And as soon as that happy and carefree feeling started, it ended abruptly. The sound of the front door closing with a slam and a manly pissed off voice crawled up the stairs reached her ears, making the little bubble of happiness in her chest explode, dragging her back to reality with a smack.

The warmth was replaced with a hot hate and the anger appeared again, burning her veins.

"Yo, turn it off, turn it off"! Chloe demanded, her eyes fixed on Max who's expression of happiness was replaced with worry in a blink.

Max turned off the music as fast as she could and the silence filled the room for a second, while Chloe let herself fall over the bed and sat down, her brows furrowed so much that a slight shadow appeared over her eyes.

The silence broke like a crystal, shattered to pieces, when the manly voice shouted again.

"How many times have I told you to stop blasting that punk shit"?!

Chloe avoided Max's worried look, incapable of holding it.

"Dude, the music's not even on"! She replied, raising her voice. A trail of poison crowning every single vowel. Incapable of holding it back, she fixed her eyes on the floor and mumbled. "Asshole."

"I'm coming up, we need to talk"!

Chloe's eyes went wide open in disbelief. Her anger and hate, that a second ago were rising dangerously inside her, were sidestepped by another familiar feeling, cold like ice and relentless as a storm. Fear.

"Ugh, no fucking way"! She mumbled, shaking her head.

She got up and ran to the desk, leaving the joint over the ashtray. She couldn't help the tremble to her voice when she found it again.

"You need to hide. Now ! My step dad will kill me if he finds you here"! Chloe said.

She exchanged a fearful and worried look with Max and went to hold the door back, preventing the man from getting into the room. Her back against the wood, her eyes fixed on Max while the girl looked around in desperation, trying to find a place to hide. Chloe could feel her heart hit her chest furiously.

"Chloe, what's going on ? Open this door, please". Said the man, knocking hard on the door.

"Chill ! I'm changing, is that okay"?! Chloe replied furiously. She looked straight at Max and whispered, with her teeth clenched. "Max, find a place to hide, now"!

Her heart beat louder in her ears with every single second that passed as Max ran to the wardrobe and tried to hide inside.

"Chloe, what are you doing"?!

"I'm coming"!

"I'm not screwing around, soldier… Chloe. Open this door".

"I'm changing, give me a minute"! Chloe snapped and let go a sigh the moment she saw Max finally closing the door of the wardrobe and disappearing from her sight.

She still could see her dark blue eyes watching her at the other side of the wooden blinds.

"Shit…"

She took a step away from the door, releasing the handle and the man finally got into the room. The middle age man stared at her, walking to the center of the room, his dark eyes fixed on her's under his furrowed thick black eyebrows.

"What's going on in here"?

"Jesus, I'm just trying on Clothes." Said Chloe, avoiding eye contact while she crossed her arms over her chest, almost as a defensive posture. "You're so friggin' paranoid".

"Yeah, combat will do that to you".

" _Asshole. Asshole. Asshole"._ Thought Chloe as she turned around and let herself fall over the bed again, her eyes fixed on her stepfather, as he looked around the place and walked slowly and heavily.

The man stopped in front of the desk, his eyes gazing through the window for a moment.

"One of my guns is missing". He said and fixed his eyes on her. "Did you take it"?

Chloe leaned her head back in frustration.

"Oh god, I didn't take your stupid gun." She said bitterly and then her eyes returned the man's look with so much hate she didn't know how it was possible he could still hold her sight. "You do know I believe in gun control"?

"Wait…"

The man looked at the desk and grabbed the joint, still puffing smoke with two fingers in disgust.

" _Oh fan-fucking-tastic…"_

"Is that grass"?!"The man asked, though he already know the answer. "You've been toking up again in here"!

Incapable of contain her anger and hate anymore, she got up from the bed, her blue eyes practically stabbing the veteran. Her hands shook a little, knowing she was stepping in dangerous territory.

"Oh yeah, guns, weed… you are trippin' balls".

"I'm sick of your disrespect"! Shouted the man, approaching her fast and standing almost in her personal space.

A chill ran down Chloe's spine as her eyes focused for a moment on the right fist of the man, clenched tightly. It would not be the first time that fist ended up hitting her.

"Tell me the truth, that's an order"! He threatened, waving an accusing finger. "Who's is it"?

" _Now what ? Oh, why didn't I toss that crap outta window ? I'm screwed now. Another fuck up to add to the list. This is great, this is fucking great. This is… ugh. UGH"!_

Chloe opened her mouth to reply a smartass line that crossed her troubled and heated mind… when she heard the sliding door of the wardrobe moving and saw by the corner of her eye how Max jumped out of it, her eyes stuck on David. Her face was a mask of worry and shock, almost like she read Chloe's mind.

"I'm sorry…" She said, her voice a bit shaky. For a second, the dark blue eyes of the brunette stumbled over the man's clenched fist. "That was my joint".

Chloe looked at her in confusion, with her mouth open for a moment.

" _What the hell just happened ?! She's… holy shit..."_

Chloe noticed there was something was off. Max was shy, her voice was always soft and as far as she remembered, she wasn't exactly brave when trouble showed up. But now… there was that look in her eyes… there was shock on her face and, if Chloe had to name the other emotion, it would be contained anger. What the fuck ?

"Well, well…" The man said, looking at Max with suspicion. "I don't like strangers in my home. Especially dopers. So you're bringing drugs into my home. How about if I call the police"?

Chloe's stepfather walked over to Max and loomed over her, with the joint still between his fingers.

"That would screw up your spotless Blackwell record…" The man threatened angrily. "You do seem to get around… Max. I'm sick of you losers dragging Chloe down. You don't have anything smart to say now, huh"?

The punk's heart jumped in her chest at the sight of Max's shocked and angry expression, as the fear kicked in, bright in her dark blue eyes. She looked at Chloe, almost in a silent beg to help her out of it, while her brief brave stand vanished, leaving her vulnerable and small in comparison to the man standing in front of her.

Chloe may be afraid of the man, but the anger boiling in her chest won the battle this time. She grabbed David's arm and pulled him away from Max brusquely.

"Get the hell away from her, man"! She said, as she shoved his arm away from her. "Stop harassing my friends"!

Chloe stepped between them, almost protectively.

" _If this fucker is going to hit someone, it has to be me. No fucking way you're laying a damn finger on her, you prick"._

David looked at her in disbelief for a moment, and then recomposed himself.

"You don't have any friends".

Those words hit harder than any punch or any smack. The bitterness in her tone, the irrefutable truth to the edge of his voice. It was a statement. Something set in stone. And she hated how those words, at some point, were her reality for a long time.

It maybe still was…

"What do you know"? She snapped, trying desperately to hide her pain and grief with anger and fury. It worked wonders, like always did. "You're not even a real cop, you're a fucking security guard"!

Those words seemed to do the trick, since David's expression softened a little, visibly hit by them.

"I was a soldier, Chloe. And Max, if I see you here again… You'll learn all about real trouble".

Without adding anything else, the man turned around and left like a whirlwind, slamming the door closed with a powerfully. Chloe raised her arms and give him not one, but two fingers.

Once David was out of the room, Chloe couldn't help but smile. Even if she was still pissed off because of the interruption and that less than polite exchange, the fact that Max actually stepped up and took the blame for her was something she didn't expect. It was like they were kids again. Max always took the blame when Chloe's plans went wrong. Of course their parents knew the truth. But since they never had to stand a really bad lecture, it wasn't so bad. Chloe was the rebellious and adventurous of the duo. But she always knew Max was the brave one when they had to face the consequences.

"Because you're such a badass, Max… Let me show you my new toy." She say, her confidence boosting up considerably. Like every now and then, winning a battle against Sargent Dickhead was always good.

Chloe turned around and walked beside the bed, looking for something underneath it. She found the little metallic box, opened it and took something from inside it. She stood up quickly, with a playful smirk on her face as she hid the object behind her back. Max looked at her between confused and curious.

"I am Price…" Said Chloe playfully, taking a step closer to Max, her blue eyes fixed on the brunette. "Chloe Price… Bang!"

She raised the gun she was holding behind her back in a shot position… and Max panicked. She pushed the gun away, fear twisting her expression.

"Jesus, put that thing down!"

"Chillax, sista." Said Chloe, rolling her eyes. She raised up the gun again and examined it in the light coming from the window. "Its not even loaded… yet"

She shrugged.

"I thought you believed in gun control…" Max said, still with her hand against her chest in surprise. Her frown was clearly visible under her fringe.

"Yes, i believe i should control the gun." Chloe replied confidently, walking backwards and away from Max. She hid the gun again in its spot and pushed the box away from the edge. "Its the men who need to be checked. You trust Nathan or David?"

" _Fucking sargent pepper, fucking Nathan Prescott… fuck boys. Fuck men. Ugh."_

And then she realized… she didn't thank Max for that last one bit.

"Thanks for taking the heat. We totally smacked his punk ass down, Max! He's no match for you and me now… That was an epic win!"

She was so hyped, so excited… the idea of being again with Max, as friends, as a team, as fucking pirates like when they were kids, confident that someday they would kick the world's ass and be famous and run into adventures…

All that excitement was dangerous, Chloe knew. She knew that the only way to be actually safe was push Max away because… because of fucking course she never would be a good influence. She'd never be what Max needed in any way. Not as a friend, not as anything else.

But that feeling was so intense she couldn't help it. It was like this surge of energy every time she caught a glance from the brunette, a thrill that started in her stomach, arced up through her lungs and flashed into a spontaneous smile… A smile that pushed her to chase that feeling and never let it go.

"Anyway… Let's sneak out the window… There is one cool place we can hang in this hickhole…"

To her surprise, Max sighed and walked to the desk. She opened the window, looked at Chloe one more time and went out through it without a word.


	5. You're high right?

**Chapter 5: You're high… right?**

 **1st Alternative Universe: Monday 10/07. Late Afternoon.**

 _It was supposed to be spooky. The legends surrounding the lighthouse at Chief Kiwanda's Cliff, involving spirits, native tribe's cemeteries disturbed by the colonists and weather curses for revenge made the place feel a bit weird and uneasy for most of the Arcadia Bay inhabitants. Or at least for the ones old enough to still give credit to legends._

 _But, legends or not, spooky or not, the lighthouse at Kiwanda's Cliff was a meeting point. And Chloe's favorite place in Arcadia Bay, for that matter. That place represented a beacon of light to the sailors; it also represented that for her. But it wasn't exactly the place that did the trick._

 _It was a person. A girl, actually, who promised to meet her there every saturday at noon. Sometimes meeting her there was like any other day after school, just another day to spend together pretending to be pirates, warriors, heroines, superheros… Sometimes, after a few days without the chance to see each other, that date was one of the few things Chloe eagerly wanted to do._

 _She walked the path to the lighthouse uncountable times, with rain pouring from her coat, with snow flying around her, with unbearable heat and the sun burning the back of her head on lazy summer afternoons. And every single time, she was greeted at the top of the hill, with a wide smile, sparkling dark blue eyes and a multitude of freckles._

 _Until that day, even if she knew the girl wasn't there, she went up there anyway. Ignoring her mother's plea to stay at home and carrying the weight of the recent events on her shoulders, Chloe climbed the hill under the cold rain falling from the sky._

 _The top of the cliff seemed so dark and dead without Max to be her bright spot on land... Once she got up there, she got into the old building, almost hearing the echos of uncountable adventures ring in her ears._

 _She sat down on the first step of the metal staircase, and started to cry._

 _Weeks became months and months became years and Chloe repeated that pattern. Every single saturday at noon, with rain pouring from her coat, with snow flying around her, with unbearable heat and the sun burning the back of her head, she reached the top of the hill again, and every single time, Max's absence hit her like a gunshot to the heart, even if she knew she would find only emptiness._

 _Maybe, in a deep corner of her heart, she expected something different. Maybe she expected the little freckled girl to show up, with that sweet and beautiful smile._

" _Did you miss me, Chlo?"_

 _She never did. Not even the day Chloe chose that very same spot to give up everything._

 _Or nothing, since she didn't have anything to give up._

 _Nothing that mattered anyway._

Chloe kept going fast, the heel of her boots digging into the soft ground under them, as she climbed her way up Kiwanda's Cliff. She tried to keep her memories at bay, all of them pretty lively today. Like she needed to remember all those moments by force.

Maybe she was blocking them, in a vain attempt to cope. But she never forgot. Because she couldn't simply forget the goosebumps, the fast beating of her heart and the butterflies rampaging in her belly. She couldn't simply forget the combination of sparkling dark blue eyes, bright smile and freckles that made her head spin.

Cheesy, yes. But saying otherwise was the equivalent of lying. And today ? It was that kind of day when you realize lying to yourself is as stupid as it sounds.

"Isn't this awesome sauce?" Chloe said, her voice loud so Max, who was walking a bit behind her could hear it. "Totally reminds me when we were kids…"

She turned around, with a smile and saw the other girl falling behind, grabbing her left arm like she used to do when she was feeling awkward.

"Come on, slowpoke!" Chloe teased, waving with her right hand.

"Hold on!"

But as always, Chloe turned around and kept going, climbing the hill with a bit of effort. The sun was setting on the horizon, lighting everything with a beautiful soft orange.

The soft wind caressed the pines along the path as she reached the top of the hill and the lighthouse finally appeared.

A little sting of pain in her chest assaulted her as she looked at the door, now closed, That she had crossed so many times before.

She kept walking, aiming for the bench near the edge of the cliff. She tried to not think about that day she met Rachel at that very same spot. She didn't want to taint that place full of memories with her most dark one, not with Max around now.

She took a seat on the bench, crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the horizon for a while. The seconds passed and even if she tried to keep her mood in check, it was becoming a really difficult task.

The sound of the polaroid camera and the flash shot at her back made her jump a bit. Max has taken a photograph no doubt… the second photo of Chloe in the day.

A moment later, Max approached the bench, still acting a bit awkward and unsure of what to actually do. Chloe smiled, even if she forced herself to keep her eyes fixed on the horizon.

"Sure you don't wanna be alone?" She asked, hesitantly.

"Have a seat, Pete!" Chloe said.

"My pleasure" Max replied, looking at her with the tiniest of smiles. "Feels nice out here after all that drama.."

"You really took one for Team Chloe" The punk said, her tone becoming serious for a second.

"I'm not as brave as you… and David is indeed a step-douche."

" _You are way braver than me… you just don't realize. Max Caulfield in a nutshell."_

"I'm sorry you had to experience it firsthand" Chloe apologized, with a little sigh.

"You have to live with him… Has he always been this way?"

"Ever since my desperate mom dragged his ass to our home... I've never trusted David"

Talking about her stepfather didn't help her to keep her mood in check, managing to go darker and darker as the conversation flowed.

She still remembered the second the guy showed up at her doorstep, a bouquet of flowers in his hand, that clear military behaviour behind his movements, all of it framed on a not so expensive suit.

Joyce left her alone that night for the first time to go out with him. And that was the first night she attempted to actually pack her things and go to seattle by foot.

She was only sixteen years old.

"He freaked out on poor Kate Marsh today…" Max said, her eyebrows so furrowed that they almost touched.

"I know her. She's cool ! Only that prick would bully her".

" _Well played, Dickead… go stalk the religious shy girl of the school. What an insane freak"._

"He has some kind of weird agenda." Max said, shaking her head.

"He has a lot of secret files. Rambo still thinks he's gathering enemy intelligence…"

Then she remembered… Max was always being nosey. And she was in David's garage not long ago. If as Max said, and indeed some things stayed the same… No doubt she saw them and the curiosity got the better of her as it always happened.

"Did you take a peek?" Chloe asked, smirking knowingly.

The second she formulated the question, Max's face became red with embarrassment.

" _I knew it"!_

"Uh… files?" Max asked, as the little wrinkle between her eyebrows became visible. That thing was always an instant giveaway.

"I know that look." Chloe said proudly. "You peeked. So, dish the dirt. Snuff videos"?

"Creepy photos of Kate Marsh… other Blackwell students…" Max said, admitting defeat.

"This dude takes his job too seriously. He still thinks he's at war or something. He is a total surveillance fetish..." Chloe frowned, her mood finally reaching its darkest point and her mistrust and, honestly, fear of David flowed. "I worry there are spy cams in the house".

A spark of horror appeared on Max's dark blue eyes as she realized.

"I knew you didn't know"! She said with urgency. "Your house is under surveillance".

"What are you talking about"?! Chloe jumped in disbelief.

" _No, no, no…"_

"There are cameras all over the house." Max said worried. "I saw it on a monitor in the garage"

" _Oh my fucking god are you being serious"?!_ Chloe thought, her dark mood turning into anger as fast as Max pronounced those words.

" _It wasn't enough to be looking behind my shoulder the whole fucking time, now I can't even chill in my own fucking room because I'm being spied on ? You gotta be kidding me"!_

An intense disgusting feeling made her guts twist.

" _This is just too pervy…"_

"I knew it"! Chloe snapped, tightening her grip around her body. "He is so hella fucking paranoid… I'll keep this a secret for now…"

" _And the moment I find a fucking camera in my room, Rambo is dead meat."_

"Sometimes ignorance is bliss…"

"No wonder I'm so miserable". Chloe said lowering her head a bit. "Everybody in this town knows everybody's secrets…"

"What's Nathan secret?"

 _Blur. The smell of something weird stuck on her nose. Movement. A voice, Nathan's voice ? A room. A room she didn't recognize. Maybe if her surroundings stopped spinning she could._

 _Someone touched her. Grabbed her arm and changed its position, to fit in a weird kind of composition they were pursuing._

 _It wasn't gentle. It hurt. The hands that are moving her limp and almost unconscious body around are shaking and sweating._

" _You better not wake up, bitch." The voice said, shaky, full of hate, distorted and weirdly far._

" _Nobody will ever miss you… you're nobody. Nobody…."_

 _A flash of light. Then another. The sound of the camera snapping picture after picture of her. She fought the numbness taking over her body, fast._

" _This is my chance… I'll prove I can… Even if it's with a slut like you…"_

 _A spiral of color and sound. A chuckle she recognized. Rachel ? That voice, her hazel eyes full of life, the blue feather pending from her ear…._

" _You're not Rachel. She was better than you. She always was the best… you are NOTHING"._

"He's an elite asshole who sells bad shit cut with laxative…" Chloe replied. She could feel her eyes getting wet as the last bits of what she remember of the hallucination went away.

"And he dosed me with some drug in his room." She added, with the tiniest of the voices.

"What"?! Max's voice was… furious. Not incredulous. She fixed her eyes on Chloe and the punk barely could return the gesture.

" _You spilled it already, now why don't you just go all the fucking way"?_

"I met him in some shithole bar that didn't card me… He was too rich for the place and too wasted. And he kept flashing bills…

"Just tell me what happened, Chloe." Said Max, her voice worried but soft. "Now."

Chloe shook her head.

"I was an idiot. I thought he was so blazed it would be an easy score." She shrugged, trying to keep a cool façade, in vain.

"You needed money that bad"? Max asks, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Actually, yes. I owe big time. And I thought I'd have enough for me and Rachel if she showed up…"

" _So… how much do you need"? Asked Frank in a very unfriendly tone. "You know this ain't gonna be cheap for ya,it's not a loan, it's a fucking investment."_

 _The smoke of the weed was blurring her vision._

 _The RV was silent, the smell of leftovers, dog fur, gasoline and sweat combined with the grass was so powerful that Chloe could feel her insides flip a bit. The faster she left, the better so she could finally throw up in peace._

" _Three grand" She replied, trying to play tough. "When I'm back I'll pay it, plus interest"._

" _Yeah fucking right you will". Frank, sat in front of her with his feet over the table narrowed his eyes dangerously._

" _You always pay me back somehow but what you're asking now is way too much for a couple of joints. How do I know you're not planning to run away with that amount and never come back"?_

" _I'm not leaving without Rachel, asshole. You know that". Chloe snapped, crossing her arms and staring at Frank with anger. "But I need to settle things first before she… comes back."_

" _Rachel, huh"? Frank frowned. He took another long drag of his own joint. "Yeah… I'm sure that bitch is having a great time. You sure she's coming back for ya, sweetheart"?_

" _Yes" Chloe clenched her teeth, trying to deny the doubt creeping at the corners of her mind. She had to be coming back. She would never leave like this… or would she ?_

" _She's coming back and I need to fix shit to finally get out of this fucking hellhole. And I don't need to explain shit to you; as long as I give your damn money back when the time comes. So are you down for this or not"?_

 _Frank extinguished his joint in a nearby ashtray filled with cig butts and sighed bitterly._

 _He played a bit with his filthy beard before looking again at Chloe with his dangerous dark eyes sparkling at the opportunity. "How much did you want"?_

"So… what about Nathan"? Max asked, snapping Chloe out of the memory.

"We went to his room at Blackwell… We drank and I laughed at his rich kid bullshit…"

" _I was so fucking stupid…"_

"He was one step ahead of me and put something in my beer…"

"God Chloe…" Max said, half exasperated half worried. "I can't believe this… I mean, I do… Then what"?

"I know I passed out on the floor…

 _She couldn't move. She was conscious but it wasn't enough. Her limbs were numb, heavy, glued to the floor as she tries desperately to escape._

 _The desperation and confusion hit hard as she tried to look around, her vision blurry and fuzzy and the bile threatening to climb up her throat at any second._

 _A soft dark laugh rang nearby. She tried to focus her sight, hard. All her strength focused in that single task… and when the room stopped spinning, panic kicked in again with the flash of a camera._

"I woke up and that perv was smiling, crawling towards me with a camera…"

"Go on…"

"Everything was a blur… I tried to kick him in the balls and broke a lamp. Nathan freaked, so I managed to bum rush the door and get the hell out. Max, it was insane…"

Max stared at her for a moment. A soft blush spread over her freckled face and her eyes, worried a second ago, sparkled with anger.

"I am so furious I can't even speak." She stated looking away. "What did you do then"?

"I figured I would make him pay me to keep quiet. So we met in the bathroom".

" _Nice plan, you ass. Look how it went. I am so freaking brilliant sometimes. Ugh. Always fucking up. One day you are going to get yourself fucking killed and it will not even matter"._

"And he brought a gun". Said Max, like she could read Chloe's thoughts.

"That was Nathan's last mistake". Replied Chloe furiously.

"He is still dangerous, Chloe. Not just to you…"

"Good thing you didn't tell anyone." Said Chloe. The thought of Nathan all over Max, pissed off and insane made her skin crawl. The image was unbearable.

"Nathan Prescott better watch his back now…"

"I won't always be there to save you…"

"You were here today, Max". She said, her tone repeating the soft smile spreading on her face.

" _You are here again… if only Rachel were here too… My damn life would be complete again"._

"You saved me ! I'm still tripping on that… Seeing you after all these years feels like..."

"Destiny"? Max spoke up.

It took only that word to shatter everything to pieces. Destiny.

Was it really destiny ? Was it really written in an ancient stone somewhere that she would never get what she wanted ? Was it really destiny to lose the things that she considered most precious to her, over and over again in different ways, and even if they came back somehow, that meant that in due time, she would lose them anyway ?

The story would repeat. She let Rachel in, and she vanished, without a single word.

She would have given up the entire world for her, but now she was there, stuck with an image in her head that she would never be able to fulfill in real life. Escape with the beautiful friend to a new life in LA. Yeah, fucking right.

And now, Max showed up. After Rachel left. And she would let Max in, because she already did. She never stopped caring. She never stopped feeling that way, not even with Rachel there to numb those thoughts, always creeping in the back of her head and now fighting their way to the surface.

And she will be left aside again like the fuck up she was. Because nothing had changed anyway.

That weariness with the same old issues that she's always had, the same boring flaws and anxieties she've been gnawing on for years, which left her soggy, tasteless and inert, with nothing left to think about.

She felt like she had just dug up some fresher pain she might have buried long ago.

Chloe knew she said she was done. Done with both of them at some point.

And she was lying to herself when she said it.

She sighed with sadness and rested her elbows over her knees, hanging her head in desperation. She felt the soft touch of Max's hand on her back and the contact was too much.

She needed to get away from it, she needed to get over that burning sensation on her skin, the hyper awareness of her proximity. Feeling like that was a mistake. Feeling like that was just adding more pain to the one she already carried with her everywhere.

Feeling like that at the same time Rachel was on her thoughts constantly was wrong.

She got up, and walked to the edge of the cliff, kicking herself mentally to keep the bad memories away. Nice spot she chose to end it all, tainting everything good she experienced there.

Now the Cliff will always be a token of Rachel's absence. Even the beautiful sight of the bay drenched in golden light as the sun slowly hid, looked sad and empty.

"If this is destiny… I hope we can find Rachel." She said, giving voice to her thoughts the moment she felt the brunette presence at her side. "I miss her, Max".

" _I miss her. I miss her as bad as I missed you, Max. As I fucking keep missing you ! Why ? Why is this shit always the same ? Why I keep struggling with this ? This is so not fucking fair. And I can't do shit to fix it"!_

"This shit-pit has taken away everyone I've ever loved". She snapped, anger boiling in her veins like fire, almost making her head spin. "I'd like to drop a bomb on Arcadia Bay and turn it into fucking glass.."

Max didn't say anything. She walked back from Chloe, slowly and grabbed her head with both hands, her features distorted in a painful expression.

"Max"?

The brunette leaned over, her nails almost digging into her skull like a lifeline, while her lips let escape a growl of pain.

"Max are you okay"?

Fear struck Chloe like a punch to the face and she made a step forward, and took Max into her arms to avoid her falling flat on her face on the ground. But she didn't stumble, she just stared blankly at nowhere, with a shocked expression, walking towards the edge.

"MAX"?!

" _Damn it, is she even listening ?! What the fuck"?!_

Chloe grabbed Max by her shoulder and the brunette spined brusquely, her eyes filled with fear and the moment they focused on Chloe's worried expression, the girl fell on her knees, into Chloe's embrace.

"Chloe… you're here. I'm back. Oh my Lord. This is real… it's real. Oh man, this sucks"! Mumbled Max in desperation as Chloe guided her to the floor in confusion, where both knelt.

"Max, what's going on ? You totally blacked out"!

The punk could read the fear clearly in the brunette's face. Sweat covering her forehead as she looked around in panic, like she could barely recognize their surroundings. Chloe grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to focus Max's eyes on her.

"I didn't black out"! She said in desperation, waving her arms a little in anxiousness. "I had another vision ! The town is going to get wiped out by a tornado"!

" _Wh- what the fuck even"!?_

"Oregon gets about five tornadoes every twenty years. You just zoned…"

"No, no ! I saw it"! Replied Max with exasperation and suddenly grabbed Chloe's wrist and held it, her eyes so fixed in Chloe's that the punk had to struggle to return it. "I could actually feel the electricity in the air…"

"Come on, take a breath, okay"? Asked Chloe, leaning a bit closer and letting Max grab her hands, her skin burning where she touched.

"Chloe, I'm not crazy."

" _Yeah… yeah you don't sound crazy at all, Max. Nope. Not a bit of craziness"._

"But there is something else I have to tell you. Something… Hardcore".

"Talk to me, Max…"

"I had this same vision earlier in class… when I came out of it, I discovered I could reverse time".

Chloe raised her eyebrows so high that they almost ended up hidden by her beanie. She just stared at Max in confusion and disbelief, trying to make sense about what she just heard.

"Like I said: not crazy". Said Max, looking at her right in the eyes.

"But high… right"? Asked Chloe.

"Listen to me ! How do you think I saved you in the bathroom"?

"By reversing time"? Chloe said, containing a snort. "Yeah, sure…"

Max's expression changed from shocked to dead serious in a second. She just stared at Chloe, right in the eyes and belief drenched every single vowel on her next statement.

"I saw you get shot, Chloe". She said, her eyes bright with held back tears. "I saw you actually… die. I was able to go back and hit the fire alarm..."

" _No way… no fucking way this is real. Or is it ? Oh fuck ! Chloe THINK straight, this is delusional. No way she can… or can she ? This is not a fucking movie, Price ! Wake up ! This is insane"!_

"Okay. I see you're a geek now with a great imagination, but this isn't anime or a video game". Said Chloe, trying to sound as serious as possible.

Internally, her disbelief and confusion raised at irregular intervals, while she tried to figure out the mess in her own head.

"People don't have those powers Max".

"I don't know what I have, but I have it". Said Max firmly. Not even a note of shyness or lies. Only fear. "And I'm scared shitless".

"You need to get high" Said Chloe, her voice shaking with the remnants of a suppressed nervous laugh."It's been a hella insane fucking day…"

At that moment, something fell from the sky and landed on Max's face. She jumped in confusion and touched her face with her hand, wiping away what seemed to be…

"What… the hell is this"? Said Chloe, looking around in awe.

"Snowflakes" Said Max, her voice low and concerned.

Chloe looked around them and saw snowflakes, falling from the sky like rain, surrounding them.

She could feel the cold drops of snow hitting her shoulders. She got up and looked at her hands in awe, where she could see the little snow drops fall and melt.

"It's like… eighty degrees… How"?! She asked.

"Climate change... " Max got up and looked at Chloe once more. "Or a storm is coming".

" _Could it be real ? Could this be... Real ? Is this… even possible ? What… what if…"?_

She looked at Max's expression and her deep dark blue eyes in search for hints that the girl was lying. Anything that could give her away, almost waiting for the brunette to start laughing and say it was a prank.

She found nothing but fear of the future.

"Max… start from the beginning. Tell me everything".


	6. I can't sleep

**Chapter 6: I can't sleep**

 **1st Alternative Universe: Monday 10/07. Night time.**

Chloe parked the truck in the Blackwell Academy parking lot a few hours later. Still looking at the front when she killed the engine and let the silence fill the cabin for a while, still gathering her thoughts and trying to figure out the mess on her mind.

Max was sitting in the passenger seat, apparently on the same page.

"So…" Chloe starts, not sure what to say. "What now"?

Max moved nervously on her seat, her eyes going from Chloe to the door and again. The silence loomed over them for some moments.

"Do you believe me"? Max asked, looking at Chloe.

" _That's indeed a good question…"_ Thought Chloe bitterly.

 _They sat again on the bench, the snowflakes still falling constantly around them. Most of them melting before reaching the ground, disappearing into the not so cold afternoon breeze._

" _I didn't even understand it at first." Max said, grabbing the bench under her with both hands, her knuckles white._

" _I was in the bathroom and…_ _I_ _reached out god knows wh_ _y_ _and…_ _I_ _was again in class. Like_ _I_ _never left, Chloe. It was a total mindfuck…_ _I_ _could predict every single thing that happened during that time"._

 _Chloe listened carefully, still wondering if her friend was joking. At that point, if it was a joke, it has gone way too far for her taste._

" _I_ _t_ _couldn't be like... I don't know, a hella strong and weird deja vu"? Chloe asked, knowing the answer already. Max started to shake her head mid sentence._

" _No. Chloe, you have to believe me. I saw you die, right in front of me. When_ _I_ _came back_ _I_ _just knew it would happen again and it did"._

 _Her dark blue eyes were fixed on Chloe's, with such intensity the punk had to struggle to not look away._

" _I even had to use the rewind again because_ _I_ _wasn't fast enough to find the stupid hammer and smash the button, Chloe. And it worked"._

 _Chloe stood up from the bench and started to walk in circles, trying to keep her own anxiety low, with not very good results._

 _It couldn't be real. Seriously, it couldn't. Like she said, this was real life, not a movie or a video game. But Max never was a good liar, and certainly not the type of person that just play troll and come up with such unbelievable story._

 _But then again, five years is still a long time, she could be just nuts. She could have changed. But she really seemed to be the same shy geek Chloe loved to have around. Besides she wouldn't be so upset about it or push it so far._

" _Time travel"? She thought, while pacing around even faster than before. "There must be a way to actually prove this shit. But how ? I need to figure it out. This can't be real. But what if it is ? What if Max isn't actually full of shit ? Fuck, are you serious ? Are you seriously thinking o_ _f_ _accept_ _ing_ _this bullshit"?_

 _She stopped and looked at Max once more. The girl seemed to be really shocked._

" _Yes, maybe_ _I'm_ _buying this shit". She thought._

" _So… that was the only time you use_ _d_ _it"?_

 _Max looked away, clearly ashamed._

" _No… I actually used it since_ _I_ _got it. Mostly trying to figure out…_ _I_ _don't know what. I just know that I extend my hand and_ _I_ _can feel it. I can control it and make it all go backwards".Max said, looking at her hand for a few seconds._

" _I… saw David slap you today. Like, he backhanded you, hard." Max raised her sight and her eyes met Chloe's for a second. They were bright with tears._

" _I saw him do that and I couldn't help it, I rewinded and changed it. I took the blame because… I couldn't…"_

 _She shook her head and a few tears escaped her eyes._

" _I don't know what this is, but it scares me. There has to be an explanation…"_

"I don't know, Max." Replied Chloe, shrugging. "I mean I want to, but…"

"But what? I know this sounds like a crazy tale, Chloe, but you have to believe me." Max said, anguish on her voice. "I… I don't have anyone else who I can trust with this."

Those words slapped Chloe on the face with an intensity she didn't expect. Max was right. To whom she would tell this and not be considered insane? Or a liar? She had no other choice and if the power was real, that meant that…

"So you think that… thing you saw up there at the cliff…"

"It's a vision from the future" Max confirmed, worry cracking her voice. "Chloe it was so real… it was like being there."

"And you say this tornado thingy will crush Arcadia… when"?

"This friday." Say Max with confidence. "I saw the date on a newspaper. It's only four days away."

Chloe let escape a whistle of confusion. She had no idea how to react to that. Or even if she should believe it.

"And… how are we supposed to… you know? Stop it"? Asked Chloe, raising her eyebrows and making a brusque gesture with her hand. "I mean… if that really happens."

"I have no idea. But I need to figure it out."

A long and awkward silence followed, while Chloe's mind was still processing the information and the possibilities of this happening for real.

But then again, it's not like everything that happened today was normal by any means.

In a single day, she almost got killed, Max came back, sargent pepper almost slapped her and a freaky snowstorm hit Arcadia Bay even if it was 80 degrees.

It was weird to think about the smallness of her own perspective. The fact that she couldn't possibly draw any meaningful conclusions about anything that happened. Much less find the meaning behind it all, if there was any.

Weird, unexpected and certainly not truly believable. But real? It might be.

"So… uh…" Chloe scratched the back of her head, covered by her ever present beanie. "What are you going to do now?"

"I need to figure out this power. Even if that means I'll end up awake all night reading science stuff".

" _Should_ _I_ … _? No, not it's too soon. You don't even know if you believe half of this crap. But…_ _I_ _kinda do ? Ugh, this is ridiculous. But what is Max supposed to do if it is actually real ? Stand in front of a fucking tornado and say "_ _when this baby hits eighty-eight miles per hour, we're gonna see some serious shit"?_

"I… I should go now." Max said, scratching her arm awkwardly. "It's about to past curfew"

"Yeah… you may get in trouble with sargent dickhead patrolling around…" Chloe replied, with a hint of bitterness on her tone. "Lucky me I'll not have to stand his ass when I'm back home."

"Yeah…"

But Max wasn't leaving the car. She waited for another second in silence, like she was dealing with an internal battle, as Chloe tried to play cool, her hand resting on the steering wheel, trying to show off an indifference she hadn't.

Finally, Max let scape a sigh and her hand reached the handle of the door.

"I assume you have a cellphone"? Chloe asked, almost blurted out as fast as she could, the moment she saw Max ready to leave.

She could feel the lump in her throat tighten… and relaxed when Max smiled warmly.

"Yeah. Save my number".

Chloe noded once, trying to repress the need to smile widely like a child.

The house was silent. Clouds of smoke curled over her head, barely lit by the soft and colorful light of the christmas lights hanging from the window frame and the moonlight, coming through the window.

She wasn't even mad at the fact that she couldn't sleep. She was already used to it, to have her mind running thousands miles per hour with multiple lines of noisy thoughts she couldn't control in the slightest. They just rambled in her head for hours and hours, sometimes until the sun raised and she got up, annoyed with herself.

There was one thought that always took part of the constant parade of ideas in her mind. A recurring thought that, even if it was always present in a way, only seemed to strike with full force late at night. A nagging guilt, a looming and shapeless future.

That thought always circled overhead during the day, pecking at the back of her mind while she tried to sleep. She could successfully ignore it for weeks during the day, but only to feel it's presence hovering outside the window, passing time by quietly building a nest.

And finally, when her head rested on her pillow and she was ready to finally let go… it was there.

" _Nobody will ever miss your punk ass, would they?"_

" _You don't have any friends"_

" _We all gather here today to pay our respects and say goodbye to a loving husband and a loving father…"_

" _You can't do anything!"_

" _Nobody wants me near."_

" _Rachel was so done with your shit…"_

" _No matter what you do…"_

" _It's never enough."_

" _ **. .enough."**_

Chloe growled in annoyance and left the cigarette on the ashtray next to her bed. She rubbed her eyes lazily and yawned, cursing internally because even being tired, there was no way her mind would shut up.

She picked up the phone resting right next to her and checked the time. It wasn't too late, even if the last two hours seemed to be as long as two months. She considered it for a moment. The urge to actually send a text was strong, hard to manage. But even if she would never admit it, the whole idea gave her the chills.

" _Fuck it."_

 **[Sent: Monday 10/07 11:56pm]**

 **[To: Max]**

U there hippie

What about that fucking snow

What about your new power

Or have you gone back in time and figured it out

As soon as she pressed send, she let the phone fall next to her, regretting it. What if Max never replied? What if that was it? She wouldn't agree to give Chloe her number if she wasn't supposed to text her, right? Well, not that she gave her much of a choice.

" _This was a stupid idea, why did I…?"_

 _Buzz. Buzz._

" _Oh…"_

She picked the phone so fast it almost falls on her face.

 **[Received: Monday 10/07 11:56pm]**

 **[From: Max]**

I can't go back that far. Smart ass.

And I need your help.

A big and stupid smirk spread over Chloe's face.

 **[Sent: Monday 10/07 11:57pm]**

 **[To: Max]**

Like when you told step-dork it was your weed

 **[Received: Monday 10/07 11:57pm]**

 **[From: Max]**

But for reals, we need to talk.

" _Yes, we do…"_ She thought, but she also knew she couldn't risk it at Blackwell again. Not after what happened with Prickscott. The more distance between she and that guy, the better. So, where? There were a few places that could do… but she decided to be cautious with this one. Besides, nobody would ever say no to Joyce's food.

 **[Sent: Monday 10/07 11:59pm]**

 **[To: Max]**

Or eat an assbuster breakfast at 2 whales

My treat

The next text came ridiculously fast. The image of Max laying down with her phone on hand waiting for a reply warmed her heart.

 **[Received: Monday 10/07 12:00am]**

 **[From: Max]**

Sold! It's good to have minions.

Chloe repressed a snort. Minions. Yeah, right.

 **[Sent: Monday 10/07 12:01pm]**

 **[To: Max]**

Gotta bail master

Breakfast is a go!

And this time, she didn't even wait for a reply. Since clearly sleep was not an option, she professed another descomunal yawn and took the cigarette from the ashtray once again, resuming her previous line of thought. But this time, it may have not been so dark and meaningless.

She fell asleep hours later. And she never got a reply.


	7. Text messages and low blows

_**Episode 2:**_ _ **Out of time**_

 _ **Time is not on your side**_

 _ **Chapter 7: Text messages and low blows**_

 **Main Universe - Tuesday 11/07. Early morning.**

"How are you?"

 _Broken. Useless. Alone. Clueless. Confused. Betrayed. Fragile. On the verge of tears. Depressed. Anxious. About to break down. Ready to give up. Pathetic. Annoying. I'm just a burden. Distant. Lonely. Bitter. Heartbroken. Rejected. Crushed. I feel like I'm going to just fall apart at any moment. Empty. Defeated._

 _Abandoned._

 _Never. Good. Enough._

…

"I'm **angry**."

She snapped her eyes open with a gasp. For a few seconds, she was afraid to find herself in that weird and dark room, unfamiliar and cold. To hear the click of the camera and that scary insane laugh ringing in her ears. Scared to open her eyes and find herself looking at Nathan Prescott's wild ones, bright with insanity and rage.

But instead, she found herself staring at the ceiling and let escape a sigh of relief. Her room was barely lit by the sun, which was raising slowly in the sky, marking the end of the night with a golden glow. The remains of the smoke trapped in the room gave it a mystic aura.

After spending most of the night looking for cameras in her room and trying to sleep, only to be greeted by nightmares, the sight of the sun lighting the room was a welcome one.

Chloe Price stretched herself and shook her head, in a vain attempt to quiet the voices in her mind. She took the phone that rested over a nearby box and checked the time. Of course it was early as fuck o'clock, but at least the idea of having breakfast with Max was promising.

Max.

" _Like I didn't have enough in my mind with Rachel and Pricksott shit."_ She cursed; dropping the phone on the bed, and covered her face with both hands in frustration. " _Though a dream about Max would have been better than the alternative. Yuck."_

She sat on the bed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

" _Wake and bake ? Huh… it's not like I have much left but… screw it"._

Chloe took the plastic bag from under the bed and examined the little remnants of her weed. A few joints left, more than she expected… good thing she made sure to have enough after asking Frank for the loan. Of course her line of thought diverted to Rachel and she frowned, frustrated.

She lit the joint and took a deep drag of it, the smoke filling her lungs. A few more, until time started to feel… funny.

She took the phone again and opened the messages. Max never replied to her last text but she wasn't actually expecting anything different. That feeling of awkwardness hit her again, the same as last night.

Chloe hated the feeling of insecurity taking over and breaking the facade she put up. The fact that Max had that power over her in so little time pissed her off, not with the brunette, but with herself.

 **[Sent: Tuesday 10/07 7:34AM]**

 **[To: Max]**

U there mad max?

Once again, the reply arrived almost instantly, like Max had her phone in hand.

 **[Received: Tuesday 10/07 7:34AM]**

 **[From: Max]**

Like I said, always for you  
:) :) :) :) :) :) :)

Seeing the text popping up filled Chloe with a sense of relief that washed the anger for a few seconds.

" _Kill the mushy, Price. This is hella stupid. And what's up with the emojis"?_

 **[Sent: Tuesday 10/07 7:35AM]**

 **[To: Max]**

NO EMOJI

 **[Received: Tuesday 10/07 7:35AM]**

 **[From: Max]**

:(

" _This is gonna be a struggle, right?"_

 **[Sent: Tuesday 10/07 7:35AM]**

 **[To: Max]**

Meet me at the diner in 40

 **[Received: Tuesday 10/07 7:36AM]**

 **[From: Max]**

I'll be there

" _You will be there ? Can I trust that ? How do you trust someone who uses so many damn emojis"?_

 __Chloe blinked a few times.

" _I higher than I thought if i'm seriously basing my trust-o-meter in the emoji count. But seriously, how do you know an emoji is real ? Is she smiling that much ? With so many emojis that has to be a big fucking grin on her face"._

She smiled stupidly at the image then shook her head, trying to keep it in check.

" _Predictable much, Price"?_

 **[Sent: Tuesday 10/07 7:36AM]**

 **[To: Max]**

Do not be late  
Or I'll know time is not on your side  
Don't get high like in my room

" _Hehe, how ironic."_

 **[Received: Tuesday 10/07 7:36AM]**

 **[From: Max]**

On my way. :)

 **[Sent: Tuesday 10/07 7:37AM]**

 **[To: Max]**

U R EVIL

40 minutes

Or else

She finally got up after that. Killed the joint in the ashtray and grabbing some clothes, headed out for a shower.

Chloe got out of the bathroom a while later, got dressed and grabbed her keys, ready to leave. She headed to the door but… maybe ?

After thinking it for a minute she shrugged and returned to the feet of her bed. Knelt there and found the metal box in which she hid David's gun. Better safe than sorry, right? She admired the revolver for a few seconds under the golden light of the sunrise. She opened the barrel and loaded the gun and put the safe in place before hiding the weapon in the back of her jeans. She left the room with the comfortable weight of the gun on her belt.

Most of her weird mood was washed away thanks to the weed and now the munchies were real. Nothing that the Two Whales eggs and bacon couldn't fix of course. She found herself drooling mentally at the image.

After sending a few quick texts to Max again, just for the sake of it (not because she wanted to see Max's name popping up on her screen again, no, not at all) she ran downstairs… just to almost collide with her stepfather, who clearly just got home. His hard and pissed off face was the last thing Chloe wanted to see that morning, just after Max told her about the cameras.

"You're heading out this early"? Asked the man, a bit surprised.

"You have a problem with that"? She replied with a sharp edge.

Chloe kept her distance, standing on the last step of the stairs, her arms crossed and her expression cold like ice. She could feel her blood run hot in her veins like fire, her eyes throwing flying daggers at the man in front of her.

She hadn't crossed paths with him since that confrontation with Max in her room. And what she learned after only helped her current hate and anger towards the man grow deeper and stronger.

"Well, I could have a problem if you plan to get into trouble again, missy". David replied, narrowing her eyes. "What are you up to"?

Almost unconsciously, she made sure David couldn't notice the weird bump of the gun on the back of her jeans.

"Yeah, sure, I'll tell you what I'm up to. Excuse you".

She took the last step down and tried to reach the door but David stepped in the way. He didn't invade her personal space, but the only manner of positioning himself between her and the exit made her head spin with fury. And fear. She could feel the short hair on the back of her neck stand on end. If David found out about the gun...

"Get out of the way, man. I have places to go to". She said with a cold voice.

"Chloe, whatever you have to do, can wait a few minutes. After what happened yesterday…"

"What ? Are you going to lecture me again about how "I am a fuck up" and "I don't have any friends"? She snapped, furious. Those words had left an invisible mark she will need some time to actually heal.

" _Max is back. Max is my friend. Is she ? How can I be sure after all this time ? And what I'm supposed to do with this… feeling I have ? And Rachel ? Rachel left but she would be back like Max, wouldn't she"?_

Those thoughts rounded her mind all night. And she always ended up having the same conclusion.

She didn't know. And the impossibility to know for certain, the response to all those questions, made her mind crawl into really dark places she didn't want to revisit.

"Again with the disrespect"? Snapped David in response. "I thought we could have a civilized conversation for once. But it's never possible with you".

"Yeah, a civilized conversation like yesterday afternoon ? What would have happened if Max wasn't there, huh ? It would not be the first time you've lost control like the psycho you are"!

"Don't talk to me like that ! What I demand is respect, nothing more than that"!

She shook her head. The memories of uncountable snaps and smacks, the pain… no, no time to go there. A chill of fear ran down her spine… and she fought it, with anger and clenched teeth.

"Respect you've never earned ! Don't expect _me_ to respect you, if you treat me like one of your toy soldiers"!

She wanted to call him out about the surveillance cameras. She wanted to tell him she knew he was being a fucking creeper with Kate Marsh, that he was acting shady and weird and it was too much. But she bite her tongue, knowing that information was her best weapon and if she was going to bring sargent pepper down, she would need it.

She saw by the corner of her eyes how David curled his hand in a fist of contained anger. He didn't say anything. He just stayed there, livid with anger, his dark eyes fixed on his step-daughter.

"You are _nobody_. You're not my dad, you can't tell me what the fuck to do".

"What happened yesterday was because you were toking up, _again_. And my gun is still missing and I don't care about whatever bullshit you make up about gun control, I just know it's not there and don't blame me for not trusting you. You never get out of that fucking room of yours this early. You could only be after a free meal, disrespecting your mother's job but I know that look. You're up to something and if it's related to my missing gun..."

"You wanna check me up, champ?" She dared him, opening her arms wide, tho she was hoping he didn't actually do it. She was internally screaming with rage because her tongue was faster than her brain. Not that it didn't happen often.

"I wanna see you try. Go ahead, check if I have your stupid gun. You put a finger on me and I'll destroy you".

David just stood there, half furious half defeated. He stared at Chloe with fury burning in his eyes.

"No ? You sure ? Good. Now get the hell out of my way. I'm already running late without you wasting my time".

She moved a hand dismissively… and David sighed in resignation.

"This conversation is not over. And if you do something, I fucking swear I'll know."

"Yeah, right. You keep gathering enemy intelligence, Rambo. Let's see how it turns out."

Before David could reply, she managed to get around him and cross the door, slamming it almost in his face.

Without looking back, she made it to the truck, turned the engine on and left the house leaving a dark cloud of smoke behind her, her head spinning with fury and with her mood absolutely fucked.

She checked her phone… late.

She was always late.


	8. No strings attached

_**Chapter 8: No strings attached**_

 **1st Alternative Universe - Tuesday 11/07. Morning.**

 _A sharp sting on her right cheek as the blood flushed behind her skin. She touched her face with cold fingers to just find a sore hot spot on her cheek bone, but not as hot as the anger and hate that flowed through her at an alarming speed, clouding her senses._

 _She saw red as an homicidal rage collided with the cold dam she put up as facade. It collided so hard that the dam broke and all those bottled up feelings, usually exteriorized with cold jokes and irony, exploded._

 _The tears never came as she picked up the knife and raised it, threatening the man sitting right in front of her. The birthday cake on the table, long forgotten now as her eyes practically burned holes on David's face, hard and filled with the same anger and hate she felt. A reflection of her internal fury, materialized in real life._

" _Good lord, Chloe! Put that thing down!" Joyce's voice, full of worry and concern filled the room, but it never reached her._

 _Joyce's words never, ever reached her._

Chloe shook her head, furious not only with David, but with herself. Again drowning in bad memories that didn't help at all to control her, already, fucked up mood. She tried to calm herself down but not even the cigarettes helped. She found herself bouncing her leg frenetically or drumming her fingers against the steering wheel, as the anxiety took over every single fiber of her being. And for a few minutes, every single thought was focused in how much she despised the man her mother chose to replace her beloved father.

It took longer than she expected, but she finally managed to turn down her anger to a manageable level. She sighed in frustration and after warning Max through text that she would arrive late, she turned on the engine and drove to the diner, hoping her mother didn't echo what sargent shit-head just stated. She could manage him, but her too? Not in the same morning, no.

A few minutes later, she parked the in front of the diner… just to see Frank's RV parked right at the other side, in the diner's parking lot.

" _Oh, isn't this fucking amazing?"_ She thought bitterly, looking over at the RV. No movement, not even that filthy pup the dealer had around all the time. " _Shit he will actually recognize this pile of junk… ugh. Like I need even more complications as it is. Fucking screw it."_

 __

She got out of the truck and crossed the street as fast as possible without running, looking over to the RV ever so often to make sure she was still unnoticed. But nobody came out from the back of the massive vehicle, so when she reached the door, she let scape a sigh of relief… only to be followed by a punch in the gut as the first thing she actually focused on was Rachel's picture, black and white, looking at her from one of the missing posters she put up on the diner's front door.

 _Another poster now on the wall. The pile was getting smaller and smaller as the day went on. It was mid may, the climate starting to get hotter and hotter as the summer approached Arcadia Bay. But even with the sun heating up the skin of her neck and shoulders, making her take off her jacket, she couldn't bring herself to actually enjoy the sensation._

 _It's been months of silence, months since the last time she actually saw Rachel's face with a different expression than the seriousness of the image she pasted all over Blackwell Campus. All over Arcadia Bay, in a vane intent to find her missing friend._

 _She couldn't get around the idea she was alone again, after all._

 _Rachel became her lighthouse during her worst moments. A lighthouse she started to consider part of the permanent landscape in her life. But all of a sudden, the light went dark leaving her with no landmarks to navigate by. She was still able to find her bearings… but felt all that much more adrift than she could ever stand._

She shook her head again, her mood getting darker by the second and she finally went into the diner.

She was already used to the smell of breakfast constantly floating in the air, the low mumble of the truckers, fishermen and general customers filling the place. The awful music on the jukebox making her cringe internally.

The usual public was there and she recognized every single one of them, like always. Officer Corn, "A mark for asshole" trucker, even Trevor and Justin, her old skate pals.

And at the very last booth, the one she always used with Rachel, there she was. Again it was like a weird kind of deja-vu, even like it was some sort of mirage. Max Caulfield, flesh and bone.

And Joyce, of course.

"Speak of the devil" Her mother said when she saw Chloe approaching them, swinging her thighs as usual, her aura of confidence coming to her aid, hiding how anxious and pissed she actually felt. She exchanged a fist bump with Trevor.

"Mom and Max, together again" She said with a fake cheerful voice.

"And Chloe looking for a free meal…" Joyce said, not angry, but resigned.

" _Not even two seconds here and I already feel that step-douche vibe. Epic."_

"You've put your whole damn college fund on your tab…"

"I am treating Chloe for breakfast…" Max stated with a tiny smile on her lips but worry on her eyes.

Then, Joyce's frown was directed at the brunette.

"Are you atoning for yesterday"?

" _Ugh, too much time around step-prick can be unhealthy, mother."_ She thought, half bitterly half… guilty.

"Oh god mom, please don't give Max any shit for that. She apologized."

"I know she did. Max's a good girl… woman. She is eighteen now…"

" _Yeah, eighteen and mature and in your eyes, not old enough to mind her own business. Just like me, huh?"_ Chloe entangled her fingers behind her head and looked at her mother with anger, trying to hold her temper back.

"Too old to get lectures from you and sargent Pepper."

" _Ooops"!_

Those words were enough to light the anger spark on Joyce's face.

"Call him David if you don't want to be lectured." Joyce said firmly. "And you get only one damn slice of bacon today"

And with that, she went back to the kitchen, leaving an utterly furious Chloe standing right next to the booth. She glared at her and crossed her arms in resignation.

"You guys are still the same" Max said, with a light giggle.

"Another reason to blow this town." Commented Chloe with bitterness. She cursed internally because her mood was threatening to taint everything again and if there was someone that, right now, didn't deserve that shit, was Max.

" _Play it cool, no need to scare the girl away… or push her away… because yes, that's mostly what you do. You push people away enough so they bail on you and never come back. Oh, please, could you be more obvious, brain? Stop sabotaging… us? Ugh I can't even think straight. That noise is driving me so fucking insane I'm gonna snap at any minute…"_

"What is this _shit_ on the jukebox?" She complained, killing her line of thought and approaching the machine. The heavy riff of a guitar replaced the previous awful song.

Like a charm, the energetic notes of the music calmed her thoughts enough so she could get her stuff together… and face Max.

"Now that thats out of the way…" She said, before jumping into the booth and leaning over the table, her eyes fixed on Max's face. "Let's talk about your super power…"

"I don't have any explanation…" Started Max, her voice insecure. "And I can't explain why I saw that crazy fucking tornado."

"Come on, that's just a daydream"! Said Chloe, still a bit incredulous. Even with all that Max told her last night, it was still on the level of a weird kind of joke for her. Rewind time? Yeah, sure. Tell me more. "I want proof that you can rewind time"!

"This is all happening so fast…"

" _Excuses ? Hell no, Max...aroni"?_

"We'll start slow. Right here, now." She pried, lowering her voice to a hyped whisper.

Max thought about it for a second… then she smiled.

"I can tell you every single thing you have in your pockets."

"You've x-ray vision dude?" Chloe asked with incredulity, half mocking, half curious. "I don't even know what's in my pockets"!

"Well… are you ready"? Max teased shyly.

" _Oh, wow. Shy is the new cute."_

"I'm hella ready."

"I'm pretty sure you have cigarettes on you…"

"Yeah, you know I'm a smoker… but how many cigarettes"?

" _If we are playing this game… I'm playing to the very end."_

"You have seven cigarettes."

"So, you have a superpower that allows you to count cigarettes… cool…"

" _How many did I have? I can't actually remember… dude, you serious?! No way she could know. She's totally bullshitting."_

"So… what else"?

"Your car keys"

" _Duh!"_

"That's way too easy." She said, grinning. "I need details. Describe my keychain."

"A cute robot panda keychain" Max says confidently.

" _No way… she could have seen the keychain when I drove yesterday. She was in the fucking cab right next to me! But… actually it's… nice that she payed attention to that… She may now Remember me? Ugh! You're getting distracted again. Yeah, she totally saw your keychain yesterday. No biggie. No weird as fuck superpower… or anything."_

"Not bad, Super Max…" She teased, in an attempt to hide her thoughts. "You do have that irish

luck, Caulfield… what else"?

"Mmm… some money"

"Clearly I'm rich as fuck…" Chloe replied with irony. "How much do I have"?

"Eighty six cents" Max replied, almost before Chloe finish her question. The punk raised her eyebrows.

" _I don't even know how much I actually have…"_

"Ha, that's right, living large in Arcadia Bay"! She mocked.

"And… a parking ticket."

Chloe sighed.

"You know me well…But when was the exact time I got busted "?

"10:34 am" Max added confidently.

" _Wait, what"?!_

Incapable of holding it back anymore, she emptied her pockets over the table and examined the contents… just to realize Max was _right_ about every single detail. The eighty six cents, the seven cigarettes, the fucking time on the parking ticket... _HOW ?_

A weird feeling on her gut made her shiver. She could feel every single hair on the back of her neck standing on end.

"Amazeballs"! She said, grabbing her head with both hands. "I literally had chills all over my neck"!  
She looked at Max and the proud and confident smile on her face was… way too much.

" _Could this be real ?! Like… real real life real"?!_

"You have powers"! She said, almost accusingly. Max just looked at her smiling, resting her head on her hand casually.

"Take that crap off the table, Chloe"!

Joyce's voice, along with the delicious smell of breakfast snapped her out of her trance.

"Sure Mom" She wasn't even able to reply bitterly as she took the items back into her pockets and Joyce left her plate over the table.

"How's the food, Max"?

"Better than I remember" Said Max with a warm tone. Joyce smiled in return.

"Very nice save" She said, and left to resume her work.

"Man, I'm hungry like the wolf"! Chloe said, as her stomach growled in protest. Weed, anger and anxiousness are not a good combo when you didn't have any breakfast. She noshed into her food with little manners, big bites and almost drooling in excitement.

" _Bacon is heaven on earth, I'm sure"_ She thought as she devoured her food at an alarming speed. After a few messy bites she noticed Max's eyes stuck on her face and left her fork and knife over the table for a moment.

"I'm freaking out about what just happened"! She said, with a surprised expression and a big grin on her face. "You have to show me more, something way cooler so I believe you without any doubt"! She rested her back on the seat, looking at Max's face with excitement.

After a dramatic silence, Max leaned over the table, with her dark blue eyes fixed into Chloe's… and with a confident voice and smile, she dropped the bomb.

"I will predict the future."

"No way"!

" _What am I going to do if she actually does that? She can't, can she? But she… this can't be real, this isn't a videogame… but… what if it is real ? What… oh god, if she does that would be so fucknig amazing ! I mean… imagine the possibilities ! No, no, you're getting way ahead of this… calm down… see how it plays out..._

"I'm going to predict four events that will happen in the next… sixty seconds or so."

Chloe awaited excitedly, almost bouncing on her seat.

"A trucker drops his mug and Joyce rips him a new one… The cops gets an emergency alert on his radio, and his partner in the car leaves without him… Justin and Trevor are fighting and Joyce breaks it up… and the jukebox goes crazy as a cockroach crawls on it…"

Chloe just stared at Max, still with that stupid grin on her face.

" _You can't be serious…"_

"That's pretty bizarro, Max... But let's see if everything happens like you said…" She said, with a hint of disbelief.

She fixed her attention on her mother, who was working behind the counter. She grabbed the coffee jar, lifted the door and went to refill mugs… when the trucker who was sitting on the bar dropped his mug, smashing it on the floor and splashing coffee everywhere.

"Oops"!

"Did you break another cup, really ?! No refill for you"! Joyce spoke up crossly.

Chloe stared in awe at what just had happened. "Oh way to go mom"

" _This can't be real…"_

Officer Corn, who was close to the trucker, puffed in annoyance as his radio emitted static.

"Ugh, now I'll have to take this call and miss my breakfast… wait, where is my partner"?!

A second later, the police siren sounded right outside the diner. Chloe turned her head so fast to look out the window that she almost hurts her neck. She watched in awe how the police car parked outside the building beamed on its lights and left in a rush, leaving a trail of smoke behind it.

"You called it"! She said. "Bet he's off to go bust some skaters…"

" _How can this be real"?!_ She thought, almost in desperation.

"You're a dick"!

"Don't slap me bitch"!

Again, Chloe turned around to see Justin and Trevor fighting, trying to slap each other over the table. And Joyce, with an intense frown on her face, approached them, still holding the coffee jar.

"Take your fight club outside"! Joyce ordered sternly.

"He started it"!

"Well, I'm finishing it"! Stated Joyce and the guys stopped fighting right after that.

"Justin and Trevor must be in love…" Chloe said, but her voice didn't sound as confident as she tried.

Reality was slapping her on the face so hard she didn't know what to think… Until the jukebox went nuts, changing songs fast and random… and when she looked at the machine, she could clearly see a big cockroach walking on it, moving its little antennas.

"You predicted a _cockroach on the jukebox"!_ She said, astonished.

" _This… this is fucking real."_

She raised her hands and mimicked bowing before Max, who looked around embarrassed.

"I pledge allegiance to Max and the power for which she stands"!

"This isn't a toy, Chloe… I do have to be careful of how I use it…"

Max rested her hands over Chloe's on the table and that gesture alone sent chills all over Chloe's spine. She tried to ignore the goosebumps on her forearms and the little jumps on her guts.

" _Well shit."_

"Screw that ! Of course it's a toy! The best toy ever"! She said, taking away her hands as fast as possible, without being so obvious. "You can bang everyone, with no strings attached and then "Boom"! it's like it never happened"!

"Grow up.."

" _Maybe…?"_

She leaned over the table and with a low, suggestive voice, almost a whisper, she… joked?

"Maybe you made a move on me and I'd never know."

Max's smile intensified.

"Oh Yes. That's what I did."

" _Oh, wait… did you ? How am I supposed to know now ? What would happen if she actually….? I can't imagine her doing that though, no… or did she ? Oh, god. This is gonna be a mindfuck, isn't it"?!_

"You can rewind _time_ , Max. That is _fucking insane._ We have to play"!

Max looked away, insecure.

"I don't have time…"

"You did not just say that…"

Max looked at her sternly… and a thin red line of blood came out of her nose. She touched under it with her fingers and looked at her fingertips, covered in blood.

"Uh check out your nose too much blow"? Chloe joked, but the concern on Max's eyes melted it away. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Too much excitement… "Max replied, worry present on her voice. "See what happens when we hook up again"?

Chloe thought about it for a moment… and even if it feels odd and… awkward maybe? She brushed her bad thoughts away and smiled at Max, as the brunette checked again her nose. It had stopped bleeding out of nowhere.

"Then… let's go to one of my secret lairs to fully test your power." Chloe purposed with a smile.

"You need a sidekick to guide you"

"Okay, girl wonder. Show me the way to Chloe's cave."

With that, both stepped out of the booth and after Max left the money on the table, they approached the door to leave…

"Okay super girl, lets go to my secret place"

Then a persistent buzz interrupted them.

She looked at Max, who was behind her with her phone in hand.

"Don't even answer." She said, rolling her eyes. "We have places to go… and people to do…" She saw that Max wasn't moving, her eyes still fixed on the phone screen. "C'mon, before Mom starts more shit! Lets bail!"

"It's Kate Marsh… from Blackwell."

" _And… who the fuck cares? So?"_

"Big whoop. You don't call me once in five years and now you're all over some bee-atch you see everyday at school?" Every single vowel was charged with poison. That awful feeling she knew too well by now was raising uncontrollably inside her, threatening, ready to make her just turn around and rage quit.

"I see how you roll, so go ahead ! Chat up with Kate Marsh from Blackwell. I've got other people to hang out with too."

" _She's never leaving me"!  
_ " _We will be best friends forever… and when we grow up, we are taking over the world."_

" _You don't have any friends!"_

Max shook her head… and answered her phone, walking away.

"Hey, Kate. What's up"?

 _Lonely. Bitter. Heartbroken. Rejected._

 _Afraid._

"Please don't get your best friend get in the way!"

 _Angry._

If the trumbull in her head wasn't enough with that explosive cocktail of mixed feelings rampaging inside it, Joyce saw her approaching the door and came to her, her expression severe.

"Chloe, can we talk for a minute"? She ask. She ordered.

" _Amazeballs…"_

"What do you want"? She replied bitterly, her face a mask of fury barely contained.

"David called me. He said you too had an argument this morning." Joyce said, frowning at her daughter.

"So"? Chloe asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"So? You can't have even one day in peace"? Joyce asked, half furious, half exasperated. "Like yesterday with Max, too. Why you always have to confront him? All the time"?

"Because he's nobody to tell me what the fuck I should do. I'm tired of you defending that prick instead of me."

Joyce blinked for a moment, surprised by her daugher harsh words.

"You know that's not true…"

"Like hell it isn't. Why don't you go back to work? Your _customers_ need you." Chloe said coldly.

Joyce let scape a frustrated sigh.

"We are having a talk once I'm back home." The woman said dryly. "And once David is done with whatever he has to do at Blackwell today, the three of us…"

Chloe snorted.

" _God, this is so fucking ridiculous."_

"That's not happening, mother. I have nothing else to say."

Chloe looked away childishly, her arms crossed, clearly indicating the conversation was over. Joyce, defeated, shook her head and returned to work, looking at her daughter with anger and concern as she waited for Max to finish that phone call.

Chloe fixed her blue eyes on Max, who stopped pacing anxiously and cut the call, returning to her. A soft expression of guilt on her face.

"Thanks, Max." Chloe said, gesturing at Joyce with her head. "If you'd rather chill with Kate, please go ahead."

"You are ridiculous. I'm chillin' with you, okay"?

" _Yeah… for how long until you bail"?_

"For now… let's rock." __

And without waiting for the brunette, Chloe get out of the diner and walked to her truck, clenched teeth and part of her wondering if she would ever stop being angry.


	9. Home -not much- away from hell

_**Chapter 9: Home -not much- away from hell**_

 **1st Alternative Universe - Tuesday 10/08. Morning.**

During the ride to "Chloe's secret lair", the tension started to dissipate. Chloe was pissed, off course, but the fact that her best friend didn't run off after the call had to count for something, so she decided to actually try to smooth her anger.

She may be pissed, yes, but Max's presence had that strange effect. Like the first time yesterday afternoon. Even with the pain of the last five years still making her wounds pound, she couldn't keep the fire lit. She ended up choosing to extinguish it.

Anger was her fuel in many levels during her time alone. But now she wasn't alone, even if the anger was still there, slowly boiling deep in her chest, constantly warming her up, it stayed under control. Max always smoothed it, since they were kids. Even when the anger was directed at her, it would cool down and disappear as fast as it came to the surface.

After a short drive, and a few sips of beer she had stashed in the truck, Chloe parked the vehicle on the very entrance of Arcadia Bay Junkyard. Her place. Her and Rachel's place.

She sighed in resignation and got out of the truck, bottle in hand, without even bothering to look at Max. She wasn't angry anymore, or not too much. Enough to play dumb for a few minutes… because why the fuck not ?

"Is this a race"? Asked Max, her voice a bit annoyed.

The brunette followed Chloe, who got into the junkyard at a fast pace.

"Keep up". Chloe simply replied, her voice harsh and edgy.

"How many times are you gonna get pissed at me this week?" Max complained.

Chloe turned around and faced her friend, pointing at her with her beer bottle. She was having a hard time hiding a smirk.

"That depends on you. And how well you do in this phase of the test".

She turned around slowly and gracefully, opening her arms to show off their surroundings.

"Welcome to American Rust, my home away from hell" She announced, with pride.

 _It was raining. Her face still hot, hurting for the backhanded slap it received not long ago. It was cold, little drops of rain like crystals falling from the dark, cloudy sky. Clashing on her face, taking the edge of the pain away. Her physical pain, at least._

 _The mud was deep and the smell was gross, a weird combination of trash, wet grass and rust. The distant sound of the horn of a train vibrating among the abandoned cars, the piles of trash bags and the old school bus, once filled with kids, now forgotten, abandoned._

 _She walked into the junkyard, filled with an indescriptible anger that threatened to run her over, unstoppable and relentless…_

" _Chloe"!  
She stopped dead when she heard that angelical voice over the sound of the rain. Her cheek hurt like hell when she smiled… but it didn't bother her at all._

"Raw and rough… it suits you". Max's comment woke her up from her brief daydream. The brunette was smiling warmly, looking around them.

Chloe looked at her friend again and for a moment, that memory of Rachel showing up that awful night struck her weirdly. How similar the situation was right now, even if it was not the same at all. That warm feeling that, despite being pissed, annoyed, insecure… despite being afraid and angry… Max was there, smiling, looking around.

 _Max is here._

"Max do you know how awesome this is"? Said Chloe, incapable of holding back that warm feeling and that stupid grin on her face. "I have my best friend back and she's also supersized!"

"We don't know for how long…" Said Max, a bit hesitant.

"Exactly why it's time to have fun"! Chloe replied, her enthusiasm giving her a peak of energy she didn't feel in a long time.

It totally reminded her when they were kids, bouncing around, playing, filled with energy, pretending to be pirates, to be superheros… and now ? Max could actually be one… and Chloe never was so happy to be the faithful superhero companion, as cheesy as it may sound.

Chloe resumed her walk, taking another sip of her beer and when she reached the spot she was looking for, deep into the junkyard, she faced Max, with a naughty grin on her face. And took the gun out of her pants and wield it a bit to show off.

" _This will be so fucking cool…"_

A thought that Max clearly didn't share with her.

"Are you kidding"? The brunette said in exasperation. "After yesterday, I'm kinda over guns, Chloe…"

Chloe rolled her eyes and let scape a frustrated sigh.

"It freaks me out that you have one…" Max continued, taking a hand to her chest for a moment in a clearly uneasy motion.

Chloe pointed the gun away, feeling the excitement and adrenaline flow a bit. Having the gun made her feel in control, able to actually confront anything…

"Don't you trust me"? She asked.

"Yeah, but not that gun". Replied Max, like it was obvious.

" _Ha… the super power girl talks"._

"You have more power than an army". Stated Chloe, putting the gun back in her pants. "Don't be afraid of my little toy. Besides, we need it for the test"

She looked around her, feeling comforted by her known surroundings. Then took a sip of her beer and offered it to Max.

"Drink"? she asked with a grin, knowing the answer.

Max backed off.

"Yuck"!

Chloe giggled a bit.

"You are so cute". She said… and then realized what she just said. "You haven't changed a bit".

" _Not even one bit… and I am so different now… who would we be now… if you didn't leave me"?_

She kicked herself mentally for that last thought. Chloe looked away, playing with the bottle in her hands.

"Okay, let's do this. Can you find five bottles while I prep the shooting range"? Chloe asked Max with a smile, pointing at her beer bottle with excitement.

Max just stared in disbelief.

"Beer and guns"? She asked, her voice a bit annoyed. "Nice combo…"

" _God, can you be less of a chicken ? You have maaaad powers Max, woman up"!_

"You can handle it." Chloe stated, a bit edgy."Now go find us some bottles, pretty please"?

She stood in front of Max, her hands together like she was begging, still holding the bottle. She looked at Max with her secret weapon… bright blue puppy eyes. Max just stared at her for a moment and looked away, her cheeks suddenly warm.

Chloe's lips curled in a grin at Max's reaction and turned around, to set up the shooting range.

" _Ah, yeah. Puppy eyes never fail"!_ She thought, the moment he heard Max walk away with a sigh.

She took another sip of her beer and looked at her objective. There was a big pile of junk, crowned by a big rusted old car on top. Right in front of her, there was two rusty barrels, standing the weight of a wood plank.

Chloe left the bottle on the ground, brushed off the dust over it with her hands and took another wood plank, resting nearby. She lifted it with little difficulty and placed it behind the other piece of wood, so it would hold back the bullets.

She took a few steps back and admired her work.

" _Eh, that would do"_ She concluded. Took the bottle from the ground and leaned over the nearby barrel, chilling. Another sip of beer went down her throat.

The breeze waved around her, moving the leaves of the trees lazily. The sound of the bugs, the wind, the scrap around her cracking, the smell of grass, mud, trash and something else filling the air…

She let scape a sigh, contemplating the landscape. Her eyes jumping around from the forgotten rock band t-shirts to the old crashed cars…

She looked away, trying to prevent her mind to go there, the exact place she wanted to avoid for the past few years. A thought that never assaulted her there when Rachel was around.

" _Fuck, I miss her so much right now… Having her here with Max would be so cool… she would have loved Max so much. We would have been all friends. Best friends…"_

Her line of thought died with a metallic sound nearby. She raised her eyes and spotted Max, walking over a plank to reach an old boat, now stuck in the junk. Unable to sail, far from the sea. Far from home.

Chloe watched Max as she walked over there, took a bottle that rested on the table placed on deck and… took a seat there. Just… contemplating, lost in thought…

Chloe pursed her lips at how she was just there, too. Unable to take her eyes off her friend and glad that right now, the brunette wasn't looking at her staring.

" _You're back… I'm still tripping on that… You're back and… and you have super powers. Do you know how fucking insane that sounds ? I just… I was so pissed when you left but, mostly I was disappointed. I felt abandoned and betrayed… after what I told you; you still left. It's not fair for me to hold that crap against you, Max. Not now that you're back here. I can't help it anyway but… I don't remember when was the last time I didn't have to fake a smile. When was the last time I didn't have to force myself to do it ? Even with Rachel I had my moments"._

She sighed, her mood getting darker as the time passed. Her thoughts flied to Rachel, again. Again. Again. Like she was just stuck in a loop. A loop that not even Max seemed able to break her free of…

And the moment she realized she was doing it again, she snapped out of it. And Max was nowhere to be found. Surely hunting for more bottles out of her sight.

She took another sip of her beer. And it tasted more bitter than it should the moment she spotted Max again, at the other side of the junkyard. She wandered around the old brick hut at the edge of the train tracks and went inside. Chloe took another sip of her beer. It tasted even more bitter.

" _So, he hit you ? Again"? Rachel asked, her voice filled with worry._

 _Chloe simply nodded, her head resting against the wall, while she sat on one of the crappy chairs, balancing over the back legs of it. Her cheek was still sore and probably a bruise was forming on her cheekbone. She felt her cheek pounding._

" _Can you believe the bitch did nothing"? Chloe said, furious, her voice as cold as her drenched clothes._

 _The rain kept falling outside, drumming against the metal sheet that provided the roof to the brick hut in the junkyard. The small room was dark, only lit by an old lantern Rachel found among the junk and Chloe fixed._

" _I can't get why your mom married that asshole… much less why she allows him to hit you"._

" _Me neither. I'm supposed to be her daughter, for fucks sake. He's… fuck. My dad would never have hit me for anything"._

 _She clenched her firsts and let scape a growl of frustration._

" _Forget about him" Rachel said bitterly, walking closer to her. She sat on a box nearby and took a look at Chloe's face, half hidden by her short blonde hair. "Does it hurt"? She asked softly, grabbing Chloe by the chin and pulling from her so she could actually see the reddish spot where the hand left the mark._

 _Chloe's cheeks got redder at the contact._

" _No" She lied, trying to seem tough. Her eyes betrayed her._

 _Rachel smiled sadly, knowing._

 _Months passed. Things changed. Blonde hair was now half blue. Hazel eyes now were decorated by make up. Rachel was sitting at the improvised table, drawing absentmindedly, her hand flying over the white sheet of paper, frowning at her work in concentration._

" _What are you doing"? Chloe asked after a while. She spent the past half hour just staring at her friend, a cigarette between her lips as she played with the lighter in her hand. On, off, on, off in a loop._

" _Oh, you will see". Rachel teased, placing some loose bangs behind her ear with a soft motion._

" _Can't your best friend in the world take a sneak peek ? Really ? So fucking kind, Rach". Chloe replied. Her voice sounded sharp as she continued. "Or do I need to be part of the Vortex Crap to have that privilege"?_

" _Aw, don't be like that…" Rachel frowned, taking her eyes off the drawing for the first time in a while. "What has the Vortex Club got to do with anything, really"?_

" _I don't know. You tell me". Chloe lit her cigarette and took a deep drag of it. The nicotine running in her system felt like a blessing. "Since you got in there, you have been less and less available"._

" _Well it takes a bit of my time, yes… but I'm here with you, am I not ? Aren't we always"? Rachel asked. Her voice didn't sound bitter or annoyed. She never did. Her crystal voice always sounded warm around Chloe._

" _I don't get why you wanted in though… these are the same assholes that made your life hell not that long ago…" Chloe stated, frowning at her friend with disgust. "I still remember you crying over some shit related to that queen bitch Chase"._

" _Well, she is still queen bitch…" Replied Rachel, going back to focus on her drawing. "But the rest of the guys aren't that bad… and everyone seems to have a good time there. And so do I"._

" _I guess I'll have to get used to sharing you." Chloe said, unaware of how that sounded._

 _Rachel smiled._

 _Half blue hair was now completely blue. The cigarette was replaced by a joint. Her plain clothes now were trash punk. And her right arm was now covered by a colorful design full of meaning, like a message to the world. Her frown was constant, the cold in her eyes was also a permanent mark. Chloe Price trademark._

 _She walked into the hut and let herself fall over one of the chairs, took off her beanie and sighed in frustration._

" _It took you long enough". A crystal voice said, hiding a smile._

 _Chloe chuckled, her mood changing as fast as a light turns on._

" _Eh, you know how it is… Frank can be a pain when you're trying to negotiate. But, I got us hella weed"! She announced, taking the plastic bag from her right pocket and throwing it to Rachel, who catched it with a soft motion._

" _That's my Chloe". She cheered, checking the contents of the bag._

 _Chloe's cheeks went warm with those words._

" _So, how's Blackhell"? Chloe asked, still playing with the rolled up joint between her lips._

" _Ah, same old same old, Che. You're not missing much to be honest". Rachel replied, while expertly fixing herself a rolled up. "There is a Vortex Party soon, though. You coming"?_

 _Chloe laughed._

" _Yeah, sure. I'll also find something in my wardrobe to fit their dress code. You're not being serious, right"?_

" _You know ? If you actually gave the Club a chance you would have as much fun as anyone else". Rachel said, in her always patient warm tone. "Nathan, Logan… They may be lame snoob idiots but they can be as fun as Justin and Trevor to hang out"._

 _Chloe snorted._

" _Sure. You are seriously comparing the filthy rich elite with our skate pals ? Low blow, Rach. Justin would be offended if he could hear you"._

 _Now was Rachel's turn to laugh._

" _He would be stoned and crack about it ten minutes later". The blonde said, taking a flyer from her pocket. "Seriously, could you at least think about it ? It would be great to have you with me there._

 _She handed the party flyer to Chloe, who examined it for a second. She looked up to find two warm pleading hazel eyes staring right back at her and her heart skipped a beat._

" _Fuck. It's not fair you use your puppy eyes with me". Chloe complained, but she was defeated and Rachel knew it. The blonde girl smiled widely, making her look even more beautiful._

" _I'll think about it… I promise". Chloe said, and finally lit up her joint, getting lost in the smoke._

 _She was alone. Alone like never before. No, not like never before but alone again. AGAIN._ _ **AGAIN.**_

 _The world could just go to hell in a blink. She didn't care. For all intents and purposes, she was alone. Betrayed. Abandoned._

 _But was she ? Did Rachel left ? Sure as hell it looked like it. Why wouldn't she ? Of course she would be tired of standing Chloe's useless ass, always bitter, always sarcastic, always filled with rage._

 _The weariness of the same old issues she dragged with her for years, the same boring flaws and anxieties. Always the same shit, that fear of being left aside like it just happened again, the fear that always left her with nothing else to think about, nothing left to do but spit it out to everyone, disguised by anger and bitterness._

 _And now, she was ready to dig up some fresher pain had buried long ago._

 _She crushed the letter on her hand, her eyes filled with tears she didn't want to let go. Some words on the letter Rachel wrote still burned like fire, sending shivers down her spine. She made the same mistake again. The same mistake she committed with Max years ago._

 _-I met somebody recently who's so different from the lame Vortex Club snobs. I know you will have a meltdown when I tell you and think he's gross- the letter said._

 _Someone who was "different" she said. Someone who was better than everyone, herself included. Someone who was better for Rachel than her._

 _-If I even told you that last night we hooked up near campus…-_

" _For fucks sake"!_

 _She made a ball with the letter and throw it to the other side of the room._

" _FUCK"!_

 _A month. A month without a word, without a text. Nobody knew where Rachel was. And just now, she found the unfinished letter, in their safe place, in their home away from hell and bullshit._

 _And she felt so helpless she couldn't avoid the tears that started falling later, the sobs that shook her body violently as she tried to fight them back, as she tried to not fall into that dark abyss she saw coming but she wanted to admit it was already there._

 _She looked at the graffiti on the wall "Rachel was here". Rachel_ _ **was**_ _here. Past tense._

 _Their old photos where both smiled, happy, without a care in the world. Sure they would rule it once they could leave bigfootville for once and for all._

 _Rachel's makeup on the table, the darts target hanging on the wall, with their scores written down nearby; Chloe always losing…_

 _Chloe was_ _ **always losing.**_

 _She got up from the chair and kicked it with all her strength, overwhelmed by it all. Overwhelmed by the silent, ghostly presence of Rachel around her._

 _It was too much. It was impossible to keep pushing against it._

 _She took the black marker that was resting on the table, took a sheet of paper, one of Rachel's old drawings… she ripped a shred from it and wrote down four words._

 _Four words that always in a way or another were in her head. Four words that even if sometimes seemed to be silent, quiet in comparison with Rachel's voice or her own punk rebel self, they were always there, in the back of her mind, waiting, like building a nest._

 _And now, now that Rachel's voice was gone, now that the careless punk was beaten, on her knees, the words came in full strength, like that day at the cliff._

 _But now, there was no crystal voice to shut them up._

 _I WANT TO DIE_

The soft sound of steps over the grass shattered her thoughts and with that, she came back to the present. A numb present. A present where Max was there. And Rachel was not.

Max approached her, worry on her features, carrying the five beer bottles with both hands. Without a word, she handed one to Chloe.

The punk faked a soft smile. Time to get the show on the road. Time to push those feelings, those four words to the back of her mind. For now.


	10. Bonded

_**Chapter 10: Bonded**_

 **1st Alternative Universe - Tuesday 10/08. Morning.**

Chloe placed the bottles over the board, her face tense, trying to actually snap herself out of her dark mood for a change.

" _Funny. Lately I'm all about not being a fucking pissed off wreck and failing"._

"Wait". She said before raising the bottle again. "One more for the road…"

She took a good sip of the beer until the bottle was almost empty, the bitter taste of the beer running down her throat, boosting up her confidence. And slight dizziness. Then, she put it with the rest of the bottles on a straight line over the board she put up.

"You are serious about this…" Max said, still looking unsure and afraid. Her blue eyes filled with concern.

Chloe walked by and just stood near her, right in front of the board.

"We are going to shoot all these bottles without wasting a single bullet". She said confidently, taking the gun from the back pocket of her jeans and raising it, holding it firmly with both hands. "And you are going to help me aim" She added cheerfully, stealing a glance from Max. She aimed, trying her best to actually score.

After a few seconds of silence Max talked again, confidently.

"Aim a bit to the right" She said.

" _Wait… ugh I'll get my mind fucked if I try to actually notice if she is rewinding or not…"_ She thought, but complied.

"Sir, yes sir"!

And softly, squeezed the trigger. The weapon emitted a loud "bang"! and made her arms shake with the recoil, it was a really weird sensation that crawled on her skin. A powerful hype and a feeling of absolute invulnerability hit her when she saw the bullet destroying the first bottle like it was nothing.

"Oh, yes ! Did you see that shit Max"?!

"Duh"! Max smiled at the blue haired girl, whose grin threatened to crack her face in two

"That was so fucking cool"! She said, her voice filled with enthusiasm as she raised the gun, ready to shot again.

" _This is so fucking badass, man. Like an action movie! Lets just pretend those bottles are fucking Prickscott, who's the bitch now, huh"?_

"Now… for the second bottle. Where do I aim, Max"?

One second later, Max confidently answered.

"Slightly above".

"Right between the eyes…" She muttered as she almost visualized Nathan's face on the bottle.

Again, like a charm, Chloe squeezed the trigger and the second bottle exploded.

"Watch out, Nathan". She spat with anger and a dangerous smirk on her face. "Now, that is fun ! Lets pump up the volume and find me another target. I wanna be … creative here" She said, walking near Max with a sassy expression on her face and her hips moving with a swing.

" _This is so fucking amazing…"_

She took position again and looked at Max by the corner of her eyes. The brunette looked at her for a moment, and Chloe noticed she had the right hand extended before her and she let it fall at her side, her eyes bright with fear. But as soon as she noticed it, Max just blinked and it was gone.

" _That was… weird"?_

"Let's take out that wheel rim on your left"! Max said, maybe with a bit of forced enthusiasm on her voice. She kept her blue eyes away from Chloe.

"Taking out the wheel rim now…"

Again, Chloe squeezed the trigger and the bullet came out with a loud sound. It hit the wheel rim and ricocheted in a straight line, destroying the third bottle with the already familiar sound of broken glass.

"Hella yes"! Chloe cheered.

"Nice shooting, tex"! Max mocked, a hand on her left hip and a smirk on her face. No trace of fear now.

"Now, that's what I'm talking about"!

"Satisfied"? The brunette asked, almost a wish implied on her words.

"Like, never". Chloe replied raising the gun again. "So I want one last ubercool trick shot…"

She could see at her side Max moving with uneasiness.

" _C'mon, dude. Don't be a chicken ! I've already shot three times without fucking up"!_

Max thought about it, scanning around and then pointed at the old car on top of the junk pile, right behind the bottles.

"What about that"?

Chloe pointed the gun at the car, trying to think where she should actually put the bullet and she noticed that again. Max's movements being uneasy, even more than before, her hand again falling at her side, her feet moving over the ground constantly.

" _Is… Is she rewinding or…? I can't … this is kind of a mindfuck, I'll never be able to tell if she does…"_

"What about the left tire"? She suggested, a tiny tremble on her voice.

"Adiós spinning wheel of death"! Chloe mocked, aimed and shot.

The bullet dug deep into the wheel and with a crack, the car started to move.

The bullet actually made the car, that was over the junk in a very delicate balance, move forward and run over the bottles, the wood planks and even hitting the ground with the front bumper, causing the car to actually spin and turn over.

It ended up upside down a few centimeters away from the girls, who had to step back when the heavy car fell, raising a cloud of dust and oxide. All the bottles laid smashed to pieces on the floor.

"Ubercool"! Chloe said and offered a hand to Max and the brunette returned the fist bump with a tiny smile.

The rush of adrenaline bumping through her veins, her already impossible grin growing wider and wider.

"I can't believe this is forreal"! The punk snapped with a big toothy smile. "My best friend is a super hero ! Now it's your turn to bust the cap"!

But she stopped dead before giving Max the gun. The brunette had her eyes unfocused, her knees shaking. Max took a hand to her forehead, her voice trembling a bit.

"I don't know…"

Chloe looked in shock how a thin thread of red slided over Max's lip.

"Max, your nose… Damn…"

" _So she did rewind… and now she's bleeding ? Again ? How many rewinds does it take ? And… oh god, is this hurting her ? What the fuck"?!_

"I… don't…" Max face grew paler and paler. Chloe took a step forward to grab the girl by the shoulders, worried she would collapse. "... feel so… super".

And with those last words, the brunette fainted, falling limp on Chloe's arms.

"Max"! She shouted but there was no response. She helped the girl to the floor, her weight all of the sudden being too much for her. "Fuck ! Fuck fuck fuck"!

" _Now, calm down. Calm the fuck down"!_ She snapped at herself, trying to raise Max off the floor.

The girl was thin and small in comparison but her dead weight was indeed a challenge for Chloe to lift.

" _Oh god, is this actually fucking her up ? And … fuck… really ? This is my fault, of course this is my fault, why am I such a fucking idiot"?_

She managed to slip one of Max's arms over her shoulders and she dragged the brunette with her, aiming for a nearby car.

Somehow, maybe the adrenaline helping her a bit, she managed to actually lift Max from the floor, carrying her with both arms. The brunette's nose was still bleeding, staining a bit of her white shirt.

" _Should I go look for help"?!_ She thought, her mind running at full speed as the gears of her brain worked in overdrive. " _Yeah, sure, what the fuck are you going to say ? -Oh, this is my best friend, she's unconscious and her nose is bleeding because she can fucking reverse time"!_

She put Max over the hood of the old smashed car lying nearby and sat there too, placing herself near Max so the brunette could rest her head on her lap.

Minutes passed and Max kept her eyes shut, but her nose wasn't bleeding anymore. Her breathing was steady but the fact that she was still out made Chloe want to shout in desperation, stroking Max's back and arm in a vane attempt of waking her up.

" _Oh god, oh god, wake up… please wake up… fuck…"_

A moment later, the brunette emitted a growl of discomfort and tried to sit up.

"Dude you really freaked me out there!" Chloe said, relief in her voice but also, her eyebrows furrowed in worry and guilt.

" _You fucked up. You're always fucking up. Fuck up. Fuck up. Fuck up"._

"Do you feel any better now"?

" _Say yes, please say yes…"_

She looked at Max with worry biting her lip. Max's expression was painful as she adjusted herself better over the hood.

"A little". She mumbled. "Thanks for helping me… I just… need a minute".

"Too much action in Arcadia"? Chloe mocked, with a forced smile. She realized she was still stroking Max's back and she stopped, taking away her hand with uneasiness.

"Maybe… not enough". Max replied, a really weak smile on her face. "This is kinda fun. Scary and stupid, but fun".

She stepped down of the hood, testing the strength of her legs in case she would collapse again. Once she was sure she was okay, she stood up in front of Chloe, still steadying herself with a hand on the car.

"Just… let me know when you feel okay" Chloe said, leaning back and resting her back against the hood, voiding Max's eyes for now.

" _Is it related to the powers ? Is she really using them that much ? God this is weird… Al least she's not that pale anymore… god, I have no idea what to think about this"._

She took the gun, resting next to her and raised it, examining the metal between her hands, aiming it to the sky.

She took note of every single details on the revolver, the few scratches on the handle, the barrel, the shiny black metal under the light of the sun… whatever to take her mind off it. Whatever to not think _she_ was fucking up. Because she wasn't. This wasn't her fault. Or that was what she wanted to believe deep inside, even if she knew better.

Talking about your own mind betraying you...

She blinked twice when the flash hit her and looked by the corner of her eye to Max who just snapped a picture of her.

The small girl just took the polaroid from the camera and shook it to make it develop faster, with a tiny smirk on her face. She was… different, while taking pictures. She didn't seem shy or afraid she just… was Max. Her eyes bright, her lips curled up, her passion for taking images was like an aura, all around her. It made Chloe feel the almost unbearable need to smile.

" _What the hell…"_

"Okay…" She said, shaking her head, suppressing her thoughts as much as possible. "Looks like you're ready to lock and load".

Chloe got off the hood and passed an arm over Max's shoulders, guiding her back to the improvised shooting range.

"I… don't know about this".

"Are you afraid of getting in trouble"? Chloe asked, rolling her eyes. Max just stared at her, fear in her eyes. "Boo hoo ! Max is afraid"!

She mocked her but… she didn't feel okay by putting that barrier between them. Her usual cope mechanism was that, mask everything with jokes, irony and mocking. This time, it didn't work in the sightless.

"I know you can handle this. And I'm here to guide you". She said, in a more friendly tone. Not that it made her feel less of an ass when Max shook her head and anxiously grabbed her arm with her right hand, a gesture she picked up when they were only kids. Finally, Max nodded with her head and Chloe lent her the gun.

"Make me proud, sista". She said with a small grin.

Max looked at the weapon, waving it a bit, taking the weight of what she had on her hands.

"Hey… It's Thelma and Louise"! Said a male voice.

" _Oh fuck my life…"_

A man approached them, his arms wide open and a dangerous smirk on her lips. He was tall, dirty blonde hair falling on strands over his forehead and a thick beard around his mouth and chin. Tattoos on his neck, a dirty leather jacket, ripped jeans and worn out boots, the man smiled at them, with his lips but not with his eyes.

"Or is it Bonnie and Clyde"? He joked, pointing at Max with one finger and looking at Chloe, as if he was waiting for an answer.

"Excuse us, Frank" Chloe snapped, her eyes fixed on the man.

"Oh, sorry Chloe"! He said, overreacting his tone. "Don't let me get in the middle of your bonding." He opened her arms wide again. His smirk was now turning into a mock of annoyance.

"I heard the gunshots and the breaking glass. Its cute that you're playing with guns. Just like me at your age".

"We are anything alike, man". Chloe said, her eyes filled with anger and dread on Frank's face. The single mention of her being like the known scum of Arcadia Bay made her shiver.

" _No fucking way"._

"We both need money". He replied. "In fact, you need it so bad… you owe me a shitload. Don't you, Chloe ? Huh"?

"You'll get your money".

"Don't they all say that ? Y'know, even when they are broke and acting tough..."

Max walked a step back, hiding the gun behind her back… and Frank noticed. He fixed his brown eyes on her, noticing the uneasiness of her movements.

"What are you hiding there, girlie"? He asked, pointing at Max. "Let me see"!

Chloe noticed something on his wrist… and reality slapped her brutally when she realized what it was.

"Where did you get that bracelet"?! She snapped, pointing at the bracelet Frank was wearing.

"A friend". He snapped back, centering his attention on Chloe again."And it's none of your goddamn business. You're my business now…"

 _Smoke over her head, the soft tones of Santa Monica Dream filling the room as the sun lazily made its way through the open window. It was hot outside, summer was coming and the weather couldn't be better._

 _Chloe took another drag of the joint, running a hand through her half dyed locks and looked at her desk, with a soft smile on her face. It was hard to not smile when Rachel was in her sight._

 _The blonde girl was sitting at the desk, her eyes intensely fixed on what was in her hands. The set of loose threads slowly forming a bracelet between her fingertips, as she delicately put it together._

" _What are you doing"? Chloe asked._

" _A thing." Rachel replied with a wink._

" _What thing"?_

" _You will see. Its for you anyway…"_

" _Oh"? Chloe sat on the bed and looked at Rachel in confusion. "For me"?_

" _Yeah… " She showed her the bracelet, half finished. "I'm making a few, I'll give you one. See"?_

 _The one she was showing her had a little "R" hanging from it._

" _And what about the other ones"? Chloe asked, as she approached the desk and noticed that too of them were already done, on Rachel's wrist._

" _I don't know… but I liked these". She said, showing Chloe her wrist so she could take a closer look._

 _One of them was plain and thick. The other one had a little "C" hanging from it._

 _A warm feeling in her chest made Chloe smile even more._

" _C, huh. I wonder who would that be…"_

 _Rachel chuckled and punched her softly on the arm._

" _Smartass…"_

"That's Rachel's bracelet"! Chloe snapped furiously at her. "Why the fuck are you wearing her bracelet"?!

"Calm yourself, alright ? It was a gift"! Said Frank furiously, waving his hand away from her.

"No, it wasn't ! You stole that shit ! Give it to me right now, asshole"! She tried to reach Frank's wrist… and the man took a knife off his pocket and showed it to her.

" _Well shit…"_

"You better step back before you regret it, girl. I mean it. You want me to cut you, bitch"? He said, his voice low and threatening, his brown eyes fixed on her's bright with fury.

Chloe raised her hands slowly, incapable of looking away from the sharp blade in front of her.

"P-please… please step back". Max voice was broken, almost a whisper. Her hands were shaking as she grabbed the gun with both hands pointing at Frank. Chloe's eyes widened in fear.

" _Oh, fuck this is not good…"_

"You're kidding… put that down…" Said Frank, narrowing his eyes. He took a step forward, as if he was about to grab the weapon from Max's hands…

And after a few tense seconds, Max pulled the trigger. Chloe cringed, a feeling of fear of uneasiness crawling on her skin when the gun emitted a soft "click"! No bullets.

Frank sighed in relief.

"That is hilarious ! Oh man…"

Then she walked toward Max and showed her his knife, clearly relieved the gun was empty… but absolutely pissed about what just happened.

"I'll remember you kid. I'll remember you almost shot me". He said, walking towards Max, raising the knife so she could take a good look at it.

The brunette recoiled, as she was getting smaller and smaller. "And you'll wish I had no memory because I never forget."

He then turned to Chloe and frowned.

"You have until Friday to pay me. Don't ever pull crap like this again- it will be the last time you do" Frank added and looked at Max with a smirk. "Try bullets next time, brainiacs".

And with that final statement, Frank turned around and left. Chloe watched the man walk away for a few seconds in silence, adrenaline fastly leaving her body.

" _Holy shit, man…"_

"Sorry…" Said Max, her eyes fixed on the floor.

Chloe looked at her in confusion and saw how shaky the brunette was. She couldn't even imagine what would have happened if the gun was actually loaded.

And either way… This was the second time Max took the heat for her and tried to protect her. This time, she could have even shot a man.

" _You're a superhero… and not because you can rewind time…"_

Chloe tried to make eye contact with her and walked to her, enveloping her in a warm hug. The contact made her hands itch, a soft spark of electricity made every single cell on her body aware of the proximity.

She wanted to push it back, because it wasn't… she shouldn't… she couldn't handle that. Not now.

"You were awesome… thanks for standing up for me". She said with a soft voice, cursing herself for feeling so vulnerable right now.

All her red flags raised as she pulled away and looked at Max.

" _Don' . "._

"Let's blow… my secret lair doesn't feel so secret today." She said with a cold tone, pushing her thoughts back again.

"At least Frank is gone, he will not fuck with us again. He just wants his money".

She shook her head and lead the way to the other exit of the junk yard, waiting for Max to catch up. Hopefully, a few seconds were enough to put her facade on again.

But she had to admit, putting up her persona around Max was getting harder and harder the more time she spent with her…

Bonded like no time has passed.


	11. Perfect realization

_**Chapter 11: Perfect realization**_

 **1st Alternative Universe - Tuesday 10/08. Morning.**

The soft breeze of October made the leaves of the trees dance around them as they walked into the forest. The sound of the woods, the insects crawling on the grass, the distant sing of the birds, some other squirrel running around, the nature noises making a relaxing symphony, like it was another world entirely.

Like no time has passed, Chloe could almost hear the giggles, the laughs and the pirate slang in a soft, childish voice.

When she looked at her side, Chloe almost expected to find that little girl she reminded, freckles, ponytail and big blue doe eyes, smiling at her like she was some pirate treasure she found deep under the sand. Instead, she found a woman. A woman that in less than forty eight hours, reminded her why she always thought of her as her own, personal heroine.

And as she already accepted, time may heal some wounds but not everything changes.

They reached the railroads that lead into the forest. Chloe jumped on one of them and started walking, trying to keep balance, her arms extended at her sides, enjoying the momentary silence. She saw Max making the same on the opposite rail, her hand a few centimeters away from hers as she clumsily kept her body balanced and walked forward, a smile on her lips and the greenish light around then reflecting on her deep blue eyes.

"I still can't believe you pulled a gun on Frank ! That was epic!" Chloe said, finally breaking the comfortable silence between them.

"It felt awful…" Said Max with a weak voice. "I'm glad there was no bullets in there."

"You could just rewind time in your hand and stick that barrel right up Frank's ass ! You have the power!" Chloe said with a smile, her eyes fixed on the train rail under her feet.

" _Though I bet shooting that guy was going to be a mess… even If he threatened us first. Ugh"._

"You're gross"! Max replied with a chuckle.

Chloe almost lost balance and struggled to regain it for a second.

"Don't fall…" Max said and grabbed her extended hand, almost without looking. A spark of electricity crawled on Chloe's skin, making every single cell in her body aware of the warm contact of Max's skin.

" _How can this be so… confusing…"_

"I'm just glad you were here…" Chloe said, surprised by how sincere her words were.

"Me too." Replied Max, a smile could be heard on her tone. Then, doubt. "I think… Chloe, why the hell are you hanging around with scary losers like Frank ? Its weird…"

Chloe released Max's hand, reluctantly and stopped. The rails had reached a clear in the forest, next to an old shed, probably used for maintenance of the water tower, not far away from their position.

"Let's take a break and I'll talk." Chloe said, laying on the train tracks, her hands behind her head and her legs bent and crossed. She could see the clouds and the blue sky over their heads, marked by the leaves of the tall nearby pines.

She saw Max imitating her, laying on the trails but her head on the opposite side, so they could see each other faces.

For a few seconds in silence, she fell in some kind of melancholic trance, becoming completely absorbed in vivid sensory details, like the soft breeze waving her blue bangs, the sound of the leaves moving around, the tall trees leaning in the wind, the clouds above their heads… she took a deep breath of it all… and for some weird reason she realized how incredible it was to actually be there in that moment. Not pretending to be anything, not worrying about put back any of her defensive walls. When was the last time she felt so vulnerable and so open… and she wasn't afraid?

For the first time in a long time, she didn't have to fight her negative thoughts back. They were there of course, always whispering in the back of her mind, trying to fill her with doubt, with fear… but at the moment, as the cool air went into her lungs and the smell of grass hit her nose, it was the first time in a long time that life didn't suck.

It was the first time in the past months she had another reason to add to the list to convince herself living was worth it.

"Feels like a different world, huh?" She said, a soft smile creeping on her face. "I wish we could stay forever…"

Max sighed softly.

"Can we another build a pirate fort and… keep the world out?" The brunette said with a dreamily voice.

" _LAND HO!"_

 _A sharp childish voice sounded loud in the forest, as Chloe, carrying Max on her back, ran among the trees. "And there is a pirate fort, my captain!" The slim girl added with enthusiasm, her brown soft hair peeking out under the red bandana covering her head._

 _Chloe stopped, laughed softly and looked around for a few seconds, letting Max get off her. The taller girl fixed the big brown captain hat on her head, crowned with a few colorful feathers._

" _Let's claim it as our own secret hangout! Who knows which precious booty awaits inside?!" Chloe said with a cheerful voice._

 _Max's only reply was a bright smile as she started to run again through the forest, followed close by the blonde girl. They left behind the woods to enter a clear spot, with an old tree placed in the middle. The field was almost a perfect circle, filled with rocks and flowers with different colors._

 _On the tree, there was a big tree house, the front of it shaped like the bow of a wooden boat. Chloe remembered vividly the image of William and Ryan struggling to build it. It took weeks for them to figure out how to place the boat there._

 _Chloe ran, her laugh getting louder and louder as she reached the base of the tree, almost breathless._

 _She turned around and looked at Max with bright eyes, extending her hand for her friend to grab it._

 _Max took it without hesitation._

Chloe shook her head, snapping herself out of the memory.

"We need a new secret hangout. At least Frank wouldn't find us." She said and looked at Max, the actual Max. Different and the same. The worry on her face was heavy. "Are you okay, Max?"

"I'm still freaked out about what happened…" She replied, like it was obvious. Maybe it was. "That was awful Chloe".

"I'm sorry…" The punk replied softly. "But Frank isn't as hardcore as he fronts. All he cares is about his cash, his stash and mangy dog".

"Chloe, did you see what just happened ?" Max asked in annoyance. "I almost shot him ! I know I could rewind but…Chloe this is not playtime ! No more guns". She stated in all seriousness.

" _I can't… I can't promise you that, Max. Not with Prickscott on the loose. Ugh, fucking psycho kid."_

"Max, I know." Chloe replied, dodging the bullet. Heh, how ironic. "Crazy shit is the new normal for me. That's why I planned to leave arcadia bay without paying frank off".

"Now tell me exactly what is going on between you and frank… does he have a last name"?

Chloe repressed a snort.

"Frank Bowers. He's just a dealer. Where I get my weed." She explained moving her head a bit to catch a glimpse of Max's expression. "The one in your joint, remember?"

She could almost _feel_ Max rolling her eyes.

"Anyway, Frank and I kinda hung out".

"Hung out ? You don't mean you…"

 _She knocked the door of the RV several times. Even being outside, she could hear the laughs and the music blasting punky-ish tunes, drowning the sound of the waves caressing the beach not far away from where she was._

 _She shook her head and knocked again, more emphatically this time. She heard the dog bark at the door and a mainly, raspy voice asking her to wait a fucking minute._

 _The door of the RV opened and a cloud of dark smoke hit her on the face._

" _Jesus, man. I know you like to get baked but at least open a fucking window." She said, waving a hand in front of her face to dissipate the smoke._

" _Oh, shut up and get in. Your girlfriend was asking where the fuck you were." Frank said, with half closed eyes and a stupid smile on his face._

 _Chloe shook the game at the "girlfriend" joke, took a step in and Frank closed the door behind her._

 _The punk couldn't help the big smile creeping on her face the moment she saw the blonde girl sitting at the table, a joint between her lips and a hand playing with her blue feather._

" _About time, bulldog." She mocked, with a wink._

" _Shut up, princess." Chloe replied, taking the joint from Rachel's mouth and taking a drag._

" _So, what's the plan for today?" Asked Frank, looking into his fridge for a six pack. "Contemplate shit as usual?"_

" _And why the fuck not?" Asked Rachel, standing up. The blonde approached the door._

" _Ah, I don't know. I'm okay with that but you girls may wanna do something different for a change." Frank shrugged and followed Rachel outside._

" _I honestly have my cup filled already with Blackwell bullshit, I really need to unwind for a bit." the blonde said, with a sharp edge to her voice. "Take the chips from the counter, bulldog."_

" _Stop calling me that, don't be a bitch..." Chloe replied, but with a smile implied on her tone. She took the bag of chips and headed out, closing the door once the dog was outside too._

 _Rachel and Frank sat on the ancient and worn out reclining chairs the dealer always had lying around. The guy had his feet resting over the folding table, pointing at the ocean, while Rachel scooted a bit, so Chloe could join in her chair._

 _She felt the heat creep on her cheeks at the proximity, their bodies really, really close, but Rachel was never awkward with it. She always knew._

 _Rachel looked at her, her eyes fixed on Chloe's lips for a few seconds before going up again. The punk could feel the goosebumps on her skin. With a smile and knowing eyes, Rachel took the joint from Chloe's lips._

" _I believe that is mine…" She teased, flashing her eyelids to her._

 _Chloe pushed her a bit half annoyed, half in awe._

" _Smartass"_

 _They spent the whole afternoon like that, just watching the ocean, passing the joint in regular intervals and after that, munching on the chips and drinking the beer._

 _Just another regular day for the Arcadia Bay drop outs and their faithful companion._

"No ! We didn't have sex ! Gross, man ! He never even tried". Chloe said, scandalized. "I just made the mistake of borrowing money so Rachel and I could bail outta here".

"That's it"?

"No. I wanna know how frank got Rachel's bracelet. What do you think?"

" _That bracelet was special. She would never give it to Frank, no way. There must… ugh, c'mon, there must be another reason I don't know. Maybe he is related to her disappearance? No, no way. Frank would never do something like that. As much of a drop out scum he is, he really isn't that bad… Is he?"_

"I don't know anymore." Max said, her voice sounded low and tired for a moment as she closed her eyes with a bit of frustration. "My brain is so fried from all this…. I need a mental enema".

That gesture evoked a flood of memories from the past. The amount of times she remembered seeing Max making that very same expression when she came up with another wild and probably stupid idea when they were kids. It made her wonder… how five years could have changed Chloe so much, but Max seemed to be the same she remembered?

And even now… Chloe seemed to be the same she was then, instead of her usual cold mean facade.

Every time a memory hit her during the past day it was like it was the present. Like she was there again, Max and her being the same, so little had changed…

"It's so weird talking with you about this insane crap." Chloe said, a hint of incredulity in her voice. "We haven't hung out so much since we were tweens… and it's like no time has passed. I wish Rachel was here to met you…"

"You think Rachel and I would have been friends"?

 _The blonde girl was laying on her back on Chloe's bed. Her head was hanging from the side of the bed, her hair leaving a golden trail to the floor as she readed a book, even being outside down. A frown crowned her expression while her eyes flew over the pages._

" _How does the title of the artwork contribute to your understanding of the meaning?" She asked in a low voice, narrowing her hazel eyes._

" _You are still with that thing?" Chloe asked from the other side of the room, where she was trying to find a very specific album in the mess she had under her hi-fi._

 _It was dark already. Rachel had stayed over to "study" for the test she had the next day, because Chloe offered her a hand. A vane excuse since she never really cared that much about art but the passion her friend had for it… if there was something she acknowledged attractive of Rachel, aside from the obvious, was her drive and passion for the things she liked._

" _You are bored already?" Rachel teased, her eyes still on the textbook. "We can do something else for a while if you want, you already had to tolerate me going on and on about this all day."_

" _No, it's okay… I actually enjoy it." Replied Chloe, almost with a whisper. She found the cd and put it into the Hi-Fi._

 _...Goodbye to my Santa Monica dream  
Fifteen kids in the backyard drinking wine  
You tell me stories of the sea  
And the ones you left behind…_

" _That song, for example…" Rachel said, closing the book with a loud "snap!"._

" _What about it?"_

" _Well the title is "Santa Monica Dream" but what does it tell you?"_

 _Rachel sat up on the bed, threw the book over the pillow and grossed her legs, looking at Chloe with attention, waiting for an answer._

" _Uh… nothing?"_

" _Exactly." Rachel smiled. "If you only read the name of the song, its not telling you shit. You actually have to listen to it, to read its lyrics, maybe think about what the artist who wrote it was thinking, feeling… and the music will do the rest. Same happens with visual art. You can give me a title here and it would probably mean nothing to me. But if the image I'm seeing has impact and makes me wonder what it means, what it wants to tell… I may never forget its title."_

 _Chloe stared for a few seconds as Rachel's smile went wider. The punk snorted, grabbed a pillow and threw it to her friend._

" _NERD!"_

"You're not that different. She had…" She interrupted herself, forcing her mind to not even play with the possibility. " _Has..._ a great art for images and for art. Plus, she's a smartass like you. We would all be hella best friends forever…"

"I know she must be as cool as you are… I have no doubt we'll meet soon". Said Max, softly and hopeful.

They spent a few moments in silence, the woods around them still singing its music into the wind.

Chloe sighed.

" _Wouldn't it be… nice? To just… take a train somewhere? Just… leave. No looking back. How it would be? Would she come with me?"_

"Railroad tracks always make me feel better…" She said dreamily. "I have no idea why".

"Kerouac knew." Max said. "It's the romance of travel and movement… the sound of the train whistle at night…"

She swat Max's leg with a chuckle.

"Look at the beat poet here." Chloe mocked her with a smile.

" _Someone stop this confusion right now."_

"I'd rather be a good photographer" Max replying, getting up from the rails. Her eyes were focused on something behind Chloe, a bright spark on them.

She walked away slowly and Chloe watched her pass by.

"You are." Chloe said softly. "You just have to stop being afraid."

Max disappear from her sight and Chloe sighed again.

She took the image of the butterfly out of her pocket and examined it for a few seconds, noticing the vivid blue color of the butterfly wings, the deflection of Max herself in the metallic bucket… the image itself was beautiful, though she couldn't point exactly why.

She stared, astounded at the unnoticed excellence that carried on around her. That image showed so much talent, so much passion, even if it seemed simple, in a sense. There was something almost mystical about it, aside from the meaning Chloe conferred it the very moment she asked to keep it.

If only Max put her talent out there… if her images were appraised by the cartel of popular taste…

People usually assumed that brilliance is a rare and precious quality, accidentally overlooking buried jewels that may not be flawless but are still somehow perfect.

" _Perfect…"_

She rearranged herself on the tracks so she could hid the photograph again in her back pocket. And she noticed her boot had stuck between the rails. She looked at it in confusion and moved her foot. Nope, the boot was still there, between the too pieces of metal.

" _How?!"_

She grabbed her boot with both hands and pulled, trying to free it with no avail. And then she heard it. A sound that made her blood run cold in a second. She could almost feel the vibrations on the rails under her… and the panic kicked in.

"MAX!" She shouted in horror, as she tried again to free her boot from its prey. "MAX, HELP!"

" _WHAT THE FUCK IS SHE DOING!?"_

The train, coming towards her whistled. She could feel the cold drops of sweat already on her forehead, her heart beating fast against her ribs like it was about to pump out of her chest as the adrenaline kicked in, an awful and sharp whistle ringing in her ears.

"Chloe!"

" _Ah, thank fucking god!"_

"Max ! Help ! I'm stuck!" She said, still pulling from her boot.

"Hold on, Chloe!" Max came over and grabbed her hands, trying to pull her up, in vane. Her boot seemed to be glued to the goddamn rail. Max desisted, her big eyes bright with panic as the color faded from her cheeks. She turned around and ran out of Chloe's sight.

Train whistles, closer and closer…

" _This can't be real…"_ Chloe thought, trying to force her foot out of its trap, looking frantically around.

" _This can't be happening… I…"_

The sound of the train got louder and she saw it appear in her field of vision. She swallowed, the panic taking over in full. Silence. The unsettling awareness of her own heartbeat, which tenuous muscular throbbing felt like it was beating its life away…

And then, she realized.

" _I … I DON'T WANT TO DIE…"_


	12. Mind chaos

_**Chapter 12: Mind Chaos**_

 **1st Alternative Universe - Tuesday 10/08. Morning.**

"MAX! PLEASE!" She screamed on the top of her lungs, trying desperately to break free from the track pray.

" _I DON'T WANT TO DIE. I DON'T WANT TO DIE."_

Chloe could feel the vibrations of the immense machine on the floor under her, the awful sound of her heart running fast, beating life through her veins. A life that would be ripped off her in just a matter of seconds.

" _I haven't found Rachel yet! I … I can't just go now, I must… And she's here. MAX IS HERE. SHE'S HERE AND I WILL NOT DIE LIKE THIS NOW THAT SHE CAME BACK TO ME."_

Exactly like the day before, time seemed to slow down. She didn't see her life going backwards, she didn't see her father or her childhood playing again in her mind.

" _She's never leaving me!"_ Her own childish voice rang in her ears.

And then, over the sound of the train breaking, sparks taking off the ground like fireworks, she heard it. A loud metallic sound… and her foot was free. Max had pulled the plug.

" _OH MY GOD SHE DID IT."_

As fast as she could she got up and stumbled out of the train's way, the burst of wind shaking her clothes around her as the locomotive passed, just centimetres away.

The train continued on its tracks and finally went away, as she turned around and found Max, right at the other side of the tracks, her dark blue eyes bright with tears.

Breathing fast, Chloe walked over where Max was and without hesitation, without any shadow of a doubt she rounded her with her arms and hugged her friend, tight.

"You okay?" Max asked anxiously; her warm breath clashing against Chloe's shoulder and her heart beating strongly, giving away how scared she was.

And to her surprise, Chloe smiled nervously, her voice cracking as she spoke.

"You saved me again." She said in awe, rocking them both from side to side, absorbing Max's warm presence in her arms and… _holy shit._

"Crazy… now we're totally bonded for life!" She said, the lump on her throat tight as she pulled back to look at Max's face.

The brunette smiled at her for a second, her eyes still bright with tears and worry but with such _relief_ and care in them that Chloe could feel Max's gaze firing up a wild spiral of butterflies in Chloe's stomach that arched up through her lungs and formed a spontaneous smile.

 _Again._

" _Oh my god, okay I get it. Stawp!"_

"Damn, that was close…" Max said, with a hint of relief.

Refusing to let go of her, Chloe looked at the last spot she saw the train. The forest seemed so quiet now that the impossibly loud shriek of the brakes was silenced. Her hands itched at the lack of contact when Chloe finally let go, taking a deep breath, filling her lungs and trying to process what just had happened.

" _She keeps saving me. And… damn, its like the first time i'm not okay -whatever- with going in … fuck, a few months not. If she just knew… I need to figure this out. I really, really do because it's driving me fucking insane."_

"Aren't you glad I took you away to a nice quiet desolate spot?" Chloe joked, trying to keep her mind in order, though all her thoughts were rampaging against each other.

She passed an arm over Max's shoulders and dragged her closer before starting to walk on the trails, making their way back home. The shorter girl rested her arm on her waist, sending a not unwelcome shiver.

"It was cool to spend time in your lair." She said, with a tiny smile on her tone. "But I have to get back to school before my next class…"

" _God… I really don't want to let go…"_

"Since you're the mysterious superhero…" Chloe said cheerfully. "I'll be your faithful chauffeur and companion!"

"My powers… might not last, Chloe." Max replied, with a worried tone.

And again, she spontaneously smiled. Those words still ringing in her ears, her chest filled with warm.

" _She's never leaving me."_

"That's okay." Chloe said softly. "We will. Forever."

The sky, that in the morning was clear and blue, was now gray and filled with ominous clouds, as the wind carried them and covered Arcadia Bay.

During the short journey back to the school, a comfortable silence kept their company, only interrupted by some occasional comment from Max. Chloe's mind, on the other hand, was a bit louder than usual.

" _I guess everyone would like, you know… question a few things if their best friend saved their ass from death twice in less than twenty four hours? No? Oh, and of course the fact that friend can fucking go back in time? No time travel story ends okay, dude..."_

She put the truck to a halt right in front of the main stairs leading back to Blackwell and the first drops of rain impacted softly on the streets and buildings, adding their music to the wind.

"Thanks for the ride, Chloe. Right on time for my art lesson." Max said, smiling fondly at her.

"Thanks for coming with me." Chloe replied, with a smile on of her own. "Sorry to be so boring…"

"Nothing exciting ever happens to us, right?" Max's joyful tone filled the cab of the truck.

" _Yeah… exciting… alright, this is as good moment as any. Here we go…"_

"Listen…" Chloe started, with now a serious tone and expression on her face. "Your rewind power has to be connected to that snow yesterday. That might explain your tornado vision…"

"Explain what?" Questioned Max, raising an eyebrow. "Snow equals a ginormous twister that takes out Arcadia Bay?"

There was a really, really awkward pause before Max finished her sentence with shaky, unsure voice.

"You're high."

"Wake up, Max. You saved my life twice now." Chloe stated, looking at her with determination in her eyes. "You altered the course of my destiny, yours, and whoever. Do you know about Chaos Theory?"

"What do you know about Chaos Theory, Miss "I hate math"?" Max mocked her with a smirk.

"Five years ago, asswipe. Some people change."

" _Hell yeah people do…"_

"And your situation is the perfect storm for quantum physics."

Max just shook her head, unsure or maybe it was just trying to dismiss her urgency. To no avail.

"Why me? I'm just a geek girl in some small town."

"A perfect example of "strange attractors"." Chloe replied, with a shit eating grin. "Don't they teach you kids anything at Blackwell? We have a tornado, rewind power and freak snow… Hello Armageddon! So let's party with your power, rock star!"

Max shook her head at the last bit of her sentence, pretending to not enjoy her friend enthusiasm. Her warm smile betrayed her as Chloe's grin went wider.

"Like you said, Professor Price… a superhero needs a sidekick."

Chloe looked at her again, with a smartass response already formulated in her mind… but instead, the sole presence of Max right in front of her killed that line of thought. Instead, her mouth was faster than her mind and she spoke again, with a really soft and unfamiliar voice.

"How can it be such a shitty week and yet one of the best of my life?" She asked, almost like wanting a real answer, almost like the question wasn't rhetorical.

Max's eyes were bright when she replied.

"Because we are back in action again!"

And with those final words, they exchanged their old hands salute and Max stepped out of the truck. And Chloe drove away.

She entered the room, without even bothering to close the door behind her. She just let herself fall on the bed with a sigh and a ridiculously big grin on her face.

" _Goddamn it, i'm all over the place"_

She rolled over, laying on her stomach and took off the beanie, running her fingers through her hair anxiously. Her mind was a total mess, between superpowers, time travel and Max. Max all over it. Just the image of her, worried to death after the train episode or her shy stand, pointing the gun on Frank, to protect her… Not even in her wildest dreams she would have thought Max would be that brave. She always was when they were kids and took the heat but they were not kids anymore… and she did it all the same. With step-douche first, then Frank…

" _And here I thought that I would be your bodyguard when we grew up… and Max ended up being my badass hero, even more than she used to be. Ugh, I sound like a damsel in distress what the actual fuck have you done, Caulfield?"_

But she knew. Of course she knew. She never stopped. And even if it was confusing as fuck because her conflicted and silent feelings for Rachel…

On impulse, Chloe took her phone from the pocket of her jeans and opened the messages tab. With a tiny grin, she wrote fast, her fingers almost slipping from the screen and hit sent.

" _I'm a total fucking dork. What the fuck am I doing?"_

 **[Sent - Tuesday 10/08 11:05am]**

 **[To: Max]**

Max

The boss with the gun

Marry me

Her grin intensified a bit the next minute, when her phone buzzed with a response. She let scape a little chuckle and then shook her head in disbelief.

 **[Received - Tuesday 10/08 11:06am]**

 **[From: Max]**

Illegal in oregon

For now

 **[Sent - Tuesday 10/08 11:06am]**

 **[To: Max]**

Fuq that shit

Elope

She dropped her phone and covered her face with both hands.

" _Why this is so complicated? I can't just feel like this. Is stupid, it was gone. Rachel… fuck. Rachel didn't ever erased all this. Even if I love her this is so much different. This is so different. This is so confusing."_

If she had already a hard time sorting her feelings out before, it certainly was getting worse and worse by the minute. The unpredictability of the latest events still managed to leave her at a loss of words, confused, unable to actually process it all and reach a final conclusion. Right now, everything was a total mess. Chaos theory in its more pure form.

" _Chaos theory…"_ Chloe rolled over once again and sat on the bed, putting her beanie on. " _If we are going into this… I need to figure out so much shit, I'd better start somewhere."_

She went directly to her closet and started to throw out all the useless items as she searched what she was looking for. She was certain the book couldn't be hard to find, since it was one of her latest attempts to actually fall asleep at night and shut her thoughts for a while.

" _An epic fail, since I actually ended up enjoying it instead of being bored to sleep. Not even that turned out okay."_

She eventually found it. The covers were worn out because of how many times she read it, waiting for the sleep to come or for the sun to raise. The back of the book was a bit scratched because, once, she just threw it to the other side of the room in a rush of fury for not being boring enough.

"Mystic Weather" by Dr. Karswell. Of course most of it could be real or not, let's say she never consider the facts outside the science the book tried to explain as true, but she also didn't expect that her best friend would show up five years later with the inexplicable ability to reverse time.

" _Eh, who the fuck knows anymore?"_

She took the book to the desk, kicked her boots off and sat on the chair. Her eyes flicked over the familiar words of the first chapters as she tried to remember more or less what she had read there. In the meantime, she turned her laptop on, in case she had to look for something.

Chloe spent a while drowning in information, as much as she could find. Her mind ended up being total chaos, as she gathered everything that seemed relevant and… believable?

She flicked the pages of the book, trying to keep an organized _-yeah, right-_ line of thought.

" _What is time? Well yeah, according to Einstein time was an illusion, like… a relative thingy. Depending on who ask and what they experiment and the speed they move through space."_

She scratched her head through her beanie and pouted slightly.

" _How was that goddamn basic physic formula? Time is… distance over speed, right? Yeah, yeah I'll write that down."_

Another half an hour. At this point, she was just laying on bed, her head hanging upside down from the edge, the book held with both hands as she tried to assimilate information.

 __" _So, this nerd also said that time has "direction"... well yeah, I mean time is supposed to move forward… hah, tell that to Max now, that would make both of us cringe as fuck."_

Her thoughts went to Max for a few moments. Was she in class now? Oh, of course she would, she's a total nerd. Did she change much about that? Didn't seem like it. Chloe remembered she had a lot of trouble focusing on stuff though. She wondered for a second if it kept happening to her. She remembered one time they were doing homework, sitting at the table downstairs. Since she was older, Chloe already knew the topic Max was struggling to learn for her upcoming test. She tended a lot to just… space out, even with Chloe trying to explain her the correct way to do it.

She frowned and shook her head, retaking her nerdy inner mumbling.

" _Alright, so let's say that "time direction" can be… altered? I mean you move forward or backwards on the same time line. That could create an ah… alteration? Like is she generating different outcomes every time she uses the rewind? Well, shit that is scary. Like, I could be dead in at least eleven or twelve universes. Ugh, nevermind."_

" _Nobody would ever miss you, punk ass! Would they?!" Nathan's voice sounded loud on her ears, his hot breath on her face as he pressed the barrel of his gun against her stomach._

" _She's never leaving me!"_

She shook her head again. Eh, focus is a challenge.

" _Where was I?"_ She stared at the page of the book in confusion. " _Oh, yeah, okay."_

" _Behavior of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions… well, fuck you too. Our lovely butterfly effect and Chaos Theory, saving Chloe's ass since 2013. Ugh, that joke was awful."_

Another half an hour of intense reading, occasionally interrupted by Max jumping in her thoughts. It was impossible to guide her mind to a place where the brunette wasn't present. She couldn't get her out of her head. And those feelings she thought had faded long ago but still somehow alive… an abandoned campsite whose embers still had the power to start a forest fire.

" _And holy fuck they did…"_

She kicked herself mentally and changed positions, now laying on her stomach, her arms extended before her, grabbing the book with her fingertips.

" _Focus, Chloe, focus… okay, so basically small changes in initial conditions of whatever crap you consider as a system can generate changes in said system, making the prediction of any outcome impossible. Mostly if those outcomes are determined by the initial conditions. Ugh, this is a total mindfuck. Okay so, we can't say that saving my ass is a "small change" in the initial conditions of basically anything. Like I said, Max altered my destiny, hers, and whoever... That would be a massive change in initial conditions of… well, reality? That specific moment in time? Timeline? Universe? At any rate, the present "determines" the future but… any slight change on that "present" may generate… multiple… futures? I'm not 100% sure that every time she rewinds it generates another universe entirely… crap, this is full of "what if's" i'll not be able to solve in a fucking lifetime."_

Changing positions, she sat on the bed, her legs hanging from the edge now, her eyes narrowed as the train of thought kept going. Eh, train. Enough trains for today. Or forever.

" _Let's say for now she has the ability to… move? Through time? I mean time is not affecting her so, taking into consideration that other nerd's theory… she's the one travelling or moving into the timeline, not the timeline moving. Okay, that would possibly clear that shit out. So no, no multiple universes unless she actually could…? Nah, this is not a fucking sci-fi movie and she can only rewind just a minute or two tops I guess.."_

Minutes passed as she kept digging deeper and deeper in theories. Eventually, she found the specific chapter of the book she was looking for in the first place. She made a "tsk" sound with her tongue as she stood up and walked over to the desk again.

" _And there it is. Weather and chaos theory. Bingo! Chaotic behavior exist in many natural systems… yeah, Nature is chaotic in essence. You're full of shit, book. The natural system behavior can be studied through analysis of blah blah blah… "_

She let herself fall on the chair with a groan and forced herself to resume her reading. She lit a cigarette while at it.

" _So, apparently there are some conditions that can be predicted, otherwise there would not be a weather forecast, like, obviously… but in this case, an alteration in the time-space could actually affect that chaotic system. Max's rewinding in the bathroom has a connection with that freak snow shit from yesterday that much is clear. You don't simply discover you have time travel powers and randomly there is a snowfall with eighty degrees... And well, that tornado vision."_

She started through the window for a moment, her eyes bright as the engine in her head worked overdrive.

" _So the use of her powers, moving through the timeline creates a… a chain effect? That could explain it since gravity is also involved in time-space theories… ugh, give me clear answers book!"_

She frowned at the book for a few seconds, fighting the urge to throw it away again.

" _Like "yes, your friend is fucking up time and space and that's why she has tornado visions!" or better "nope, your friend is hella high and hallucinating so, don't worry! She's just a geek with a great imagination!" Yeah, right."_

The sun found its way to the top of the sky and started, slowly, to come down as the time passed. It was the afternoon when she finally closed the book over her desk and turned the laptop off. She rubbed her eyes in exhaustion, mentally speaking.

" _Two states differing by imperceptible amounts may eventually evolve into too considerably different states… bullshit, bullshit… in any real system such errors seem inevitable - an acceptable prediction of an instantaneous state in the distant future may well be impossible." No shit sherlock! Then the vision is a possibility or just… bleh, I don't even know what i'm trying to figure out here."_

She professed a descomunal yawn and stirred herself lazily. And then realized something. She sat straight on her chair and kept her mouth shut, trying to distinguish any sound of movement in the house. Nothing. Everything was way too quiet. By that time, Step-douche should be back from his shift at Blackwell. What the fuck?

Chloe got up, put her boots on, grabbed her cigarettes and keys from the desk and went downstairs, to find the living room and kitchen empty. The television was on, exactly like it was when she came in a few hours ago.

She dropped the keys and the cigarettes the moment she recognized the girls on the news. Even if the video they were showing was crappy and fuzzy, she would recognize Max anywhere.

As fast as she could, she almost jumped on the sofa, looking for the remote control to pump the volume up as she stared in awe how Max, holding a slim and fragile girl, walked out of one of the Blackwell buildings she recognized as the Prescott's dormroom, people all around them clapping and screaming.

" _...event that has shocked Arcadia Bay inhabitants beyond words. This noon, a student from the recognized Blackwell Academy threatened to commit suicide, jumping from tone of the main buildings of the institution. The teenager, by the name of Kate Marsh, age 18, still hasn't talked with the press. According to the few students that gave their testimony, including the source of this video, said that a fellow student showed up on the roof and talked down miss Marsh. Maxine Caulfield, the hero of this story, refused to talk with the press about the incident. We will keep you informed when we…."_

"Holy… shit…"

She recovered her things from the floor, her phone in hand as she walked through the front door, ready to storm back to Blackwell. Or at least those were her intentions until she went outside and saw the sky bright red as the moon shadow, big and dark, started to hide the sun from her sight.

" _Okay... this is starting to really freak me the fuck out..."_

After a few seconds, staring in awe, she tried to call Max. The call didn't got through though, probably lack of signal. She just sighed, hoped into the truck and instead of rushing to Blackwell, she ended up up hill, at the lighthouse, watching how the bright red light of the now half hidden sun dyed the bay with its warm tone.

 **[Sent - Tuesday 10/08 6:13pm]**

 **[To: Max]**

Sorry about Kate

I hope you're okay

This eclipse freaks me out...

She stared at her phone for a few seconds, unsure if she will receive a reply. A moment later, the device buzzed on her hand.

 **[Received - Tuesday 10/08 6:13pm]**

 **[From: Max]**

Let's find out what's going on!

Together!

" _Together"_

And her blue gaze got lost in the bloody red horizon for a while.


	13. The thief, the scare and the blackmailer

_**Episode 3: Chaos theory**_

 _ **All is Chaos**_

" _How are you?"_

 _Broken. Useless. Alone. Clueless. Confused. Betrayed. Fragile. On the verge of tears. Depressed. Anxious. About to break down. Ready to give up. Pathetic. Annoying. I'm just a burden. Distant. Lonely. Bitter. Heartbroken. Rejected. Crushed. I feel like I'm going to just fall apart at any moment. Empty. Defeated._

 _Abandoned._

 _Never. Good. Enough._

…

" _ **I'm Confused."**_

 _ **Chapter 13: The thief, the scare and**_ _ **blackmailer**_ _ **.**_

 **1st Alternative Universe - Tuesday 10/08. Evening**

Night had fallen. The fireflies were around already, approaching any source of light they could find. The town, as on any other night, went a bit more silent than usual, as people closed their doors, turned off the lights. Life was slow and quiet, even after the turmoil caused by the unsuccessful suicide attempt at Blackwell Academy. Like nobody in the town had anything else to add to it. No words to actually explain such a situation, almost like an ominous hand made sure everyone went quiet, though it was impossible at some point.

Chloe was lying on her bed, the light of the room turned off. The room was in silence, only the far sound of a cricket getting through the open windows, as the American flag danced a bit on the breeze.

She played with her phone for a moment, unsure of what to say. Finding certain words was hard for her right now, after such a long and shocking day in many ways. She sighed in frustration, a bit pissed with herself about her momentary lack of confidence.

But she cared, and she wanted to know. So she sat on the bed, her legs crossed and typed a fast text.

 **[Sent - Tuesday 10/08 9:12pm]**

 **[To: Max]**

Yo super max. How's the blackwell hero doing?

" _Blackwell hero is even an understatement at this point."_

A buzz signaled the reply. Another fast reply.

 **[Received - Tuesday 10/08 9:12pm]**

 **[From: Max]**

The hero is still shaking with nerves :O

And I even got Nathan Prescott suspended

A grin creeped on her face with those words.

" _Stop being so fucking badass, yo"_

 **[Sent - Tuesday 10/08 9:12pm]**

 **[To: Max]**

You're a boss, but NO EMOJI

 **[Received - Tuesday 10/08 9:12pm]**

 **[From: Max]**

Listen, something weird and scary is going on at Blackwell

It's time for us to put the pieces together

Cool?

Chloe reread the text a few times, then dropped the phone on her bed. She sighed, right before letting herself fall backwards and rubbed her eyes for a moment.

Aside from all the time travel stuff going on… she felt a bit guilty of how much Max had taken over her thoughts during the past two days. When she was with Max, of course Rachel was still in her thoughts, but at some point, she felt she was doing more to hang out with Max than to find her missing friend. And she wanted to fix that. Because with Max, they might have a better chance to actually find her.

" _I hope you are fine, wherever the fuck you are… I… I don't want to think about the alternative."_

It was hard to keep her mind from going to a very dark place regarding Rachel's disappearance. It was hard to believe in anything anymore after all that happened. The persistent anguish raging at her in the back of her head, those persistent feelings of being… out of place, lost even… Rachel drowned them. After six months of not knowing where she stood, even with Max around to actually make her _forget_ her misery for a few brief moments, it was so hard to have hope on anything.

But now she had the opportunity to actually do something about it. And like a lamp that turns on in her head, a brief grin of mischief appeared on her face, even if it didn't reach her eyes.

She got up from the bed, put her boots on and her beanie, that had been abandoned on the desk along with her worn out quantum physics book. Silently, playing ninja, she went downstairs and checked the perimeter. The sound of the TV reached her ears, as she expected. Along with a deep snoring. Heh, the prick was asleep, that would make it easier. The sound of the faucet and the sound of the dishes clashing against each other also placed Joyce in the kitchen. She could hear her mother sigh tiredly.

As silently as she could she went to the the garage door, next to the entrance and smiled a bit when she found it unlocked.

" _Time to make Blackwell our bitch…"_

Luckily, what she was searching for was easy to spot. The keys of Blackwell were resting on one of the tables among a bunch of crap and the security officer cap, that had been left there a few hours ago. Inside the first drawer of the desk, also unlocked, she found the spare keys of the school. Much to Chloe's luck, Step-douche seemed to be particularly careless that night.

She took them with a satisfied grin… and the sound of the door at the other side of the room made her heart almost jump out of her chest.

"This goddamn door is screwed again…" David said, his deep voice cushioned by the door he tried to push open.

" _Oh, fuckfuckfuck"_

Taking advantage of the brief delay David had to open the door, she almost ran to the other side of the garage and hid behind the old car her step-father was repairing. David got the door open a second later and looked around, his eyes narrowed, almost like he could sense her presence in the room. Chloe's heart was beating so loud she deemed it a miracle that he couldn't hear it.

The man looked tired and annoyed when he finally sighed and part of his tension dissipated. He opened and closed the door for a few seconds, taking a look at the old hinges. He shook his head, closed the door and walked around the garage.

"This double shift crap is gonna kill me one day" he mumbled as he went out of her sight.

" _Ah, this is gonna be a fucking long night… isn't it?"_

She had to wait for a good twenty minutes until David got his bearings, put his security officer cap on and left the garage, ready to take the night shift.

Chloe waited to hear the front door close behind him to actually get out of the garage, silently thankful to the busted hinge that had saved her ass. She took a sneak peek around before getting out of her hiding spot and went to the front door, grabbing her truck keys from the little table nearby, covered with bills and debts to pay.

She went out and got into the truck, hoping the sound of the engine wouldn't wake up her now surely sleeping mother.

 **[Sent - Tuesday 10/08 11:34pm]**

 **[To: Max]**

I have something to show you

Meet me in front of campus

Get that ass in gear NOW

She didn't miss Blackwell at all. She didn't miss its people, didn't miss her teachers, and she certainly didn't miss the psychology department or the crappy principal drama, founded by Prescott money or the bitchy queens that ruled the Vortex. But if there was something she could say she missed about the school, it was how mysterious yet familiar it was at night.

She remembered walking around at night with Rachel, just for the sake of disrespecting the curfew hours. Smoking on the benches in front of the dorms, walking around like they owned the place. Occasionally running away from the security officers patrolling around, though they never found them, because they knew better. Blackwell was hell on earth, yes. But Rachel really made it feel like heaven sometimes.

From her hideout, behind some bushes, she saw a slim shadow slowly walking its way to the main campus entrance. Sneakers, generic jeans, a shirt and a gray hoodie, accompanied by that bag and that shy stance, as the breeze messed a bit with her hair. A big stupid grin grew on Chloe's face at the sight of Max, who seemed sleepy and tired as she moved forward.

Silently, she got out of her hideout and approached her…

"BOO-YAH!"

Max jumped away from her, absolutely scared for a second. She looked at her and the moment she realized, her brows furrowed. She took a hand to her chest, trying to steady her heart rate.

"Get it? Boo-yah? Like I'm a… scary punk ghost?" Chloe joked, trying to hid a bit her awkwardness.

"More like a scary punk asshole…"

" _Well played, idiot…"_

"Hey Chloe, I didn't exactly had the greatest day trying to keep my friend from jumping from the roof. I don't think i need you to prank me tonight, 'kay?" Max said, her tone clearly pissed.

" _Yep, amazing job!"_

"Sorry… but you absolutely balls to the walls did save your friend." Chloe said, taken by surprise with that harsh tone. Max certainly stood her ground.

"Kate saved herself. I couldn't even use my power." She said, shaking her head. "My head felt like it was being crushed. Then I had no clue what to say on that roof…"

"Don't be so modest, rock star." Chloe said, keeping her eyes glued to Max's face. "Kate is alive because of you. You obviously said the right thing."

" _Why you have to be so hard on yourself? How is possible you can't realize you're… the best fucking person I know?"_

"And your badass power is going to save us all. We just need to connect the players."

"And find out who almost killed Kate." Max said with determination, fire in her eyes. "We have to stop this from happening to anybody else."

"Oh yeah, and somehow stopping that tornado from wiping out Arcadia Bay… right?" Chloe added, a bit unsure.

" _Details, Chloe. Details."_

"Didn't you say it was all about Chaos Theory?" Max said, doubt present in her voice. "I don't see any control over this chaos..."

" _Chaotic behavior exist in many natural systems… yeah, Nature is chaotic in essence. But in this case… maybe?"_

"Oh right, except for your ability to, oh yeah, manipulate time and space? No biggie" She said. She hoped, at least.

"Chloe, I just feel weird about some of my… decisions." Max said, grabbing her arm as she used to do when she was anxious. _Goddamn cute._ "Especially after I just got Nathan expelled."

" _Cute and badass. No deny here."_

"Dude, do not even torture yourself like that." Chloe said, crossing her arms. "Let's just focus on looking for clues."

"We need to find out more about with who Rachel was involved in here."

Chloe sighed and looked away.

" _Rachel, Chloe. Focus on goddamn Rachel."_

"She was able to blend in with anybody. Even with people I hated."

The vortex club poison was still fresh in her mind. She never understood how it was possible for Rachel to like them. She always said they weren't that bad… but she also started to grow apart from her because of it and Chloe couldn't deny she hated every single one of those elitist assholes.

"And even though I don't know her, It feels like Rachel is guiding us to the truth."

Anger. Why the fuck wasn't she here with them? Why the fuck does everything have to end up fucked?

"Fuck the truth, i just wanna find my friend right now." Chloe said, with a harsh tone. "It scares me to think where she could be… Do you think she is…"

" _Why do you do this to yourself?"_

"Kicking it in los Angeles?" Said Max with a tiny smile but her voice was shaky. She was obviously unsure. Who wouldn't be? "That would be the best case scenario…"

"She wouldn't leave without me, okay?" Chloe replied, bitterly. "And how often do missing girls turn up? We have to find Rachel soon. We have to…"

" _If she is… no. Don't you even fucking dare think about that."_

"I promise you we will." Said Max softly, but confident. "Like you said, it's time we start the search for clues. Now tell me what's your secret."

Chloe smiled a bit and hid her hands behind her back. She took the keys from the back pocket.

"Drumrolls please!" She said with enthusiasm and showed Max what she had in her hand. "I present you the spare keys to blackwell! Thank you, step-prick!"

" _And thank me, my knees still hurt from being hidden behind that four-wheeled crap for half an hour…"_

"You are such a boss, Chloe!" Max said, with a spark in her eyes. Then, her voice went soft and low, concerned. "I just don't want you to get in any more trouble…"

"Look at all the trouble dropping in Arcadia bay." Chloe answered, though she couldn't deny the warm feeling in her chest at the concern. Again. "At this point, who gives a fuck anymore? We are in it to win it, Max. Lead the way…"

Max smiled and then started walking, with Chloe following just a bit behind.

"I'm so glad you're my partner in crime…" the brunette said.

" _You have no idea…"_

"As long as you are my partner in time." Chloe replied, half joking… half serious.

"Insert groan here…"

Both approached the front gates of Blackwell, walking along the paved way to the building. The framed pictures looked a bit more ominous than usual in the gloom of the night, accompanied by the sound of the animals around. A lonely owl hooted nearby.

They were just a few steps away from the main entrance, when the sound of the door startled them. Max guided Chloe behind one of the big frames displayed around and knelt on the ground, sneak peeking from the side of the frame at the two people coming out of the building.

Chloe recognized the smaller one, Victoria Chase of course, sporting her usual fancy wardrobe and blonde pixie cut, perfectly brushed, almost at the point to cause annoyance. She was talking with a man she didn't recognize. Tall, brown hipster hair-style and glasses. His face partially covered by his hipster beard.

" _Hipster alert, yes!"_

"Thank you again so much for helping me put together a portfolio…" said Victoria, her tone so sickenly fake Chloe had to repress a snort.

" _Bitch is in action."_

"Hopefully the rest of the class will follow your lead" replied the professor. "I'm sorry I was distracted. As you know, it has not been a good day for Blackwell."

"I know this has been an awful day and you can talk to me anytime, Mr. Jefferson."

" _Oh my god, soo smooth…"_ A grin creeping on her face as she watched Victoria's obvious flirtatious stand.

"Thank you, Victoria. I'm glad it had a relatively happy ending."

"I don't know what I would have done if Katie jumped…"

Chloe could almost feel Max cringe at that. Of course, like someone from the Vortex Crap would be close to the religious shy girl. Bullshit.

"Katie? I had no idea you two were that close... did she?"

"Well… how does this affect the Everyday Heroes contest?"

" _Ah, here we go!"_

"It doesn't. The contest is still a go and I have to pick the winner to best represent Blackwell. I've got all the photos except one from… Max…"

" _And that too. Goddamn it Max, you and your fucking insecurities…"_

"I'll give you a one-word sneak preview of Max's photo - selfie. Listen you have seen my entry, you know it's better than that. Wouldn't that be so cool hanging out together in San Francisco, Mark?"

"Stick with Mr. Jefferson, Victoria. Please? And, uh… I haven't picked a winner yet."

He seemed awkward and unsure about the situation. His body language clearly hinting he wasn't interested.

"You already love my work so it's not like you're playing favorites… Just imagine if you picked my photo, though... we would have to spend a lot of time together. That could be… fun. Don't you think?"

" _Oh, please Bitchtoria… stop embarrassing yourself… oh, you know what? Nevermind. I'll grab my popcorn while you're at it."_

"I'm going to think that you didn't say any of that…"

He was ready to walk away but Victoria grabbed the professor's arm in a vain attempt to stop him from leaving.

"You might as well chose me… otherwise i might have to tell people you offered to chose my photos for favors or something…"

" _And you fucked up. Congrats!"_

"As a favor to your future, I'll also ignore that undisguised threat. This conversation is officially over, Miss Chase. I suggest you go back to your dorm now." He said harshly, with emphasis on the "Miss" .

He left Victoria alone, at the top of the stairs and walked away towards the parking lot. Chloe had to repress a laugh when she saw her almost facepalm at her own fuck up.

"Wait, I only… Are you fucking kidding me?"

The girl, defeated, got down the stairs dragging her feet. She walked past the girls hidden behind the frame, mumbling to herself about how stupid she was, until she went out of sight.

"Just when I think Victoria can't get any more evil…" whispered Max.

"Shit is about to get real at blackwell" Chloe replied, in all seriousness.

"Let's go find out!"

And with that, Max grabbed Chloe's hand and pulled, taking her to the building. And the spark at her touch woke up the butterflies again.


	14. Not breaking but entering

_**Chapter 14: Not breaking but entering**_

 **1st Alternative Universe - Wednesday 10/09. Early Morning.**

Inside, the main hall was dark and creepy. Only the distant light of the vending machines partially lighting their surroundings. Max pulled out her phone and the light made the atmosphere even creepier, like ripped off from an horror movie.

"Chloe the keymaster…" the brunette whispered.

"You know it."

"Dude, I don't know about this. We're both already into so much trouble…"

"Not to mention the weed you brought into my room… joking!" said Chloe, walking along the hallway and looking around, memories overflowing her about going to school herel during the day, walking side by side with Rachel and the skater boys... _Fuck._

"I'm serious. We're not kids anymore. We are breaking and entering…" said Max, looking around in anxiousness.

"If i have a key how can it be breaking?" said Chloe, looking at Max like her statement was obvious. "They can't charge us for just… entering!"

" _And people say jokes are not life support…"_

"I'm serious. We could go to jail…"

"Not if I'm related to the head of Blackwell Security." Chloe said confidently, playing with the keys between her fingers, making a metallic sound. "Step-shit will not want me in the hands of the local police. So, we better find what's in the principal's office first. You can rewind if we get caught, right?" she added, walking towards the door that lead to the office. "You have mad powers, Max…"

"But my powers didn't save Kate. Maybe I did on my own…."

Chloe used one of the keys from the massive keychain and walked into the secretary's office.

"Come on. One more door and our work here is done."

Chloe walked in, her eyes focused on the door that maybe was hiding the answers to her questions. Or at least some of them. She had no doubts about Nathan being involved by now. After what happened to Kate and him being expelled thanks to Max, there had to be something they could use. Wells was clearly bought by the Prescotts to hide shit… so this was a good place as any to start their search.

For a few moments she tried key after key, her heart beating fast in anticipation as she was running out of chances. And finally, she tried with the last one… but the door stayed closed.

"That's it… What the fuck?" she said in confusion, staring at the door. "The security officer should have the keys of the principal's office…"

" _Well, fuck..."_

"He's hiding shit. Like everyone here." said Max with a hint of annoyance to her voice.

"Well, now we definitely have to get this door open." Chloe said, leaning near and examining the lock. Old and used, she could see the scratches on the metal, like someone had trouble getting the key in several times.

" _Drinking problems, I bet my ass. Maybe Frank would be of use with this one, fucker always knew how to open doors without busting the lock."_

"Believe it or not I know a little about lock picking… thanks to… Frank. I might as well test my thief skill."

She knelt before the door and picked up her tools from the inside pocket of her jacket. Good call she decided to bring them too, just in case. Otherwise, they would have totally been screwed.

"Go for it. We are already in this deep."

But… yeah, let's say the chances of succeeding like Frank were… minimum.

"Well, you could look for the key… Just in case."

"Why yes, I could."

As she worked her way with the lock, Max looked around for the key in the secretary's office. Of course, Chloe didn't expect the key to turn up. If the principal was actually hiding shit, there was no way the guy left the key lying around for anyone to find. The other option was to actually break into his residence, near the Prescott dorm… and that was even more risky than this. Of course, Max would totally refuse and she wouldn't be able to blame her.

"No key for thee… we will have to find another way in." Max said.

"I guess I didn't spend enough time with Frank…" Chloe shook her head. "But I'll use my DIY lock-pick tools while you come up with a better plan."

"My plan has a name…" Max replied confidently and took turned off the light on her phone.

Chloe saw her search for a number on it from the corner of her eye and put the phone to her ear. Only two seconds later, her call was answered.

"Hey Warren, you busy?" Max asked, her voice a bit tense. "Just bubble-hearth. You'll be okay!"

" _Oh, nerd alert! Okay…"_

"Listen, I need your physics expertise - stat. Without naming names, if someone had access to the art and science labs and wanted to construct a device that would, say, open a locked door, would you maybe kinda know how?"

A moment of silence. The fucking metal wire she was using to pick the lock was being a total bitch. Meanwhile, her ears were totally focused on Max's conversation.

"Huh? No! I'm just asking for , science-guy. Uh, n-no, no. Stay. We need you as back up. Just send the text instructions now."

A moment of tense silence. The tool got stuck in the fucking lock. Great.

"I'm sorry, I'm just not sure about a movie night right now. Don't hate me…And thanks for the help"

Chloe just stopped trying to bust the lock and glared at Max with a sharp edge. Her skin crawled and a loud whistle rang in her ears for a moment. Oh, wow, why so furious?

" _Get a hint, pal. No movie night for ya. Fuck. Focus, Chloe. What the hell was that?"_

And with that last line of thought, she tried once again to open the door. To no avail.

"This sucks ass!" she said, furious, and punched the wooden door with a clenched fist."Goddamn door!"

" _Yeah, fucking door. I hate you door. Yes, this door, in particular. Ugh!"_

"Try to not wake up everyone at Blackwell!"

Max's phone emitted a peep at that moment and she held it up again, the screen lighting up her face.

"Sorry Max, I got nothing. What about your plan?" Chloe said, looking at her, her voice a bit low with frustration.

"I'm going to go put it together. Can you stay here and not get caught?"

"I may get on the other side of this door before you, Lupin." She forced a smile at the girl, and in exchange, she got a confident smirk.

"The race is on. See you soon."

For the next ten minutes or so, Chloe kept trying to bust the lock open. As time passed, she felt less and less confident with her attempt to find out stuff about Rachel here. Just like any other futile attempt in the past, she always hit a dead end. Even now, knowing that at least some of the answers to her questions could be behind the door that refused to be open. On top of that, she really wanted to actually get there before Max could put up whatever she was up to. No nerd could beat her to the punch, no way.

"If I can get this bastard open, she can't cheat with her rewind… " She mumbled in frustration. And with a forced movement, the wire she was using broke in half. She looked at it for a moment in anger and punched the door. "Ugh, this is bullshit! Fuck you, door!"

And almost like the door heard her, it opened. Her heart almost jumped from her chest as she looked in horror at the person behind it… until her eyes stumbled upon Max's face.

"Welcome to my domain…" she said with a bright smile.

" _What the actual fuck!?"_

"You are magic." Chloe stated, getting up and grabbing Max's shoulders firmly, visibly hyped up. "I have no clue how the hell you got in there but you did it, sista!"

"The company I keep… Now let's find what we want and beat it. My powers only go so far."

Chloe walked in as Max closed the door and left a bunch of items in the trash can nearby. The punk looked around the office, which was not exactly how she remembered it. The walls were covered with new paintings, expensive and ugly, and the decoration was not the way it had been a few years back. Or maybe she didn't pay enough attention to it at the time, being told about a bunch of stupid crap she didn't want to hear.

"Man, I can see why the principal locks this room up. Fancy faux art crap. He must want everyone to know he has money. But no taste."

She walked to the desk, which was kind of a mess. Some papers were lying around on the desktop, lit by the lamp located at the edge of the table. The computer was still on, sentinelled by a bronze hawke posed nearby.

"How can you trust somebody who has a fucking bronze bird in his office? I'm glad I was expelled…"

"Yes, if only the principal had a Monet or a Picasso you'd still be at blackwell." Max teased, looking around.

Chloe repressed a snort and walked around the desk to check the papers out.

"Eat me." she said. "I'm going to pilfer the papers on his ugly ass desk."

" _That sounded bad… ugh, whatever."_

She moved some of the papers away, looking for something useful. She desisted after reading nonsensical and useless forms and stuff about camera security on campus, probably an initiative from step-paranoid, and a petition to stop it.

Opting for checking out the computer, she approached the ugly chair behind the desk and sat down… _oh._

"Okay, sure, it's ugly but damn is it a cozy chair!" Chloe said, swinging on it from side to side, resting her boots on the desk. "This is your chance to get all deductive n' shit, Sherlock. Find us some clues about Rachel or Kate… or Nathan… anybody!"

"I'm on the case…" Max replied, but she was looking at her with that bright in her eyes… and even before she slid her hands into her bag to retrieve the camera, Chloe knew she was about to take a picture.

" _It's gonna be a keeper…"_

"Chloe… say hello to my little friend…" Max said, raising the camera and angling the shot, so the bronze hawke was present too.

Chloe grinned at the reference.

"Say goodnight to the bad guy!"

And with a loud sound, the camera snapped picture. Max took it and shook it a bit before storing it in her bag again and started to look around, searching for the info they came for in the first place. Chloe watched her for a few seconds before turning her attention to the Principal's computer.

There was a folder on the desktop named "Documents" that looked promising, so she went full cyber-stalker and dug deep into the files. As expected, there was a lot of useless crap, like the permits for improvements in some of the buildings, files on each teacher of the institution, financial records of the school expenses and earnings, schedules, meetings, blah, blah…

" _Oh, what have we here?"_

Chloe found a folder among the students files with a pretty vague name, different from the organized archive Wells seemed to keep.

Inside the folder, there was only one more with the name "Prescott, Nathan Joshua".

But whatever she expected to find in there… it wasn't exactly what she did find.

" _What… step-fucker was following Rachel?!"_ Her eyes flicked fast along the files in the folder.

" _Rachel being a… a drug mule? What the fuck?! This is… sick!"_

"Max… you better come check out these files…" Chloe said, her eyes still glued to the screen in disbelief.

Max approached her, concern in her eyes.

"Nathan accuses Rachel of bringing drugs on campus? And my step-troll went along because he thinks Rachel was a bad influence on me. Assholes…"

" _I'm so fucking pissed right now. Fucking hell…"_

"If David is teaming up with Nathan Prescott, that's a bad sign.." Max said, leaning over the desk to read the files too. She looked so tired and worried…

Chloe kept reading, her frown so notorious it seemed like it would take years to erase that expression from her face.

"Nathan Prescott the Third, uh he's so money." she mocked sharply. "And you know the Prescotts dropped major bank to bury Nathan's real file… Look - it reads like a rap sheet! Bad grades, teacher complaints, secret probation… but I was expelled?"

" _So fucking unfair. I had eighty absences, so fucking what? I've never threatened anyone's life or made people miserable like this elitist prick. How on earth this is okay? Arguing with teachers, drugging people, throwing a fucking desk in class? Holy shit…"_

"At least Nathan was finally suspended. Check out that note… open it."

Chloe complied and opened the file Max pointed out.

" _This is kinda fucked up."_

"That's just a crazy drawing." she said.

It was an image, a scanned drawing made with black ink on a white sheet. Or at least what it looked like a drawing.

"It's not a drawing. Look…" Max pointed at the edges of what seemed to be a clusterfuck of nonsense… and Chloe realized they were words. "'Rachel in the dark room, Rachel in the dark room…' Over and over… that's it."

"That's… fucked up. What does this even mean?" Chloe leaned over, and focused on the drawing, like she could see through it and understand. She could feel her blood boil through her veins every time she read the name of her friend in Nathan's shaky and broken calligraphy. "Nathan is truly psychotic. I know he has something to do with Rachel missing."

" _If that bastard put a single finger on her… I'm going to kill him."_

"Whoa, listen to this: "'David M. always asks what's going on in my head. David M. always helps me follow those he follows'… Pretty cryptic." Max pointed out.

"No, it sounds like they've formed some kind of weird team, the super he-bros."

" _Fucking assholes got to stick together. Like they weren't bad enough on their own. Fuck."_

"Jesus… David was stalking Kate, hassling me, and now we know he was all over Rachel too…"

" _This is getting weirder and weirder by the second. I so want to get the fuck out of this office..."_

"Oh, we are so going into his garage files… Plus I'm getting a little paranoid in here."

Choe leaned back for a moment, enjoying the soft leather of the seat and how comfortable it was…

"We got our info, let's bail. But maybe we shouldn't leave without a gift…"

Max straightened up and looked at her with a knowing gaze filled with seriousness.

"No, you are not taking the cozy chair."

" _What the…"_

"Max, do your powers include mind reading?" Chloe asked surprised before realization hit her. "Or… did you just rewind because I tried to steal the chair? Shit, I'm confused."

" _Hella confused…"_

"It's the power of best friendship." Max simply replied, dismissing her claim. "I know how you roll. We should definitely get out of here. We pressed our luck enough."

Chloe looked around on the desk, just in case she missed anything that could be of use. On a rushed last attempt, she opened the only drawer of the desk and found quite a heavy envelope inside. The words "Handicapped fund" were written on it.

"Hullo, what have we here?" She opened the envelope and her jaw dropped in awe. "Holy shit! Jackpot! Cha-ching..."

There was money inside. _A lot_ of money.

" _Holy fuck this… oh my god there is like five grand here! I… I could take Frank off my back right now!"_

"Wowser… that is a lot for the handicapped fund." Commented Max.

"Dude, there is five thousands dollars here. I could pay Frank back tonight!" Chloe said, counting the bills again, her fingers shaky with anxiousness. "This will chill him out after you almost… you know… shot him."

She raised her bright eyes filled with enthusiasm… and found a really unsure Max in front of her, her eyes fixed on the money.

" _I know that look… Max 'Jiminy Cricket' Caulfield…"_

"Are you going to make a big issue out of this?" Chloe asked, a bit of disappointment in her voice. "Or just rewind to get the greens all for yourself? I hope you do that instead of lecturing me…"

There was a moment of silence and hesitation on Max part, before she replied.

"Frank knows things about Rachel and he might talk if he's been paid… right?"

A big smile, a genuine smile, appeared on Chloe's face. A smile that also reached her eyes, for once, along with a warm feeling in her chest.

" _You… you're so fucking incredible."_

"You are super, Max." Chloe said with soft voice. She got up and hugged her friend again, resting her chin on her shoulder. She was so warm and small and… She was Max.

" _Max is here…"_

"And with the leftover dough, I'll take you on a road trip to Portland for the day." She said, pulling back, incapable of looking away. "We'll stock up on tats, beer, weed, and donuts…"

"And books from Powell's!" Max added, raising an unsure fist.

" _We could do it. I… I really want to do it."_

"And strip clubs!" she joked, bouncing with excitement as she walked towards the door, turning the desk lamp off. "Kidding… but… you never know!"

She left the office and waited for Max outside, in the dark secretary's office. Barely lit by the moon, there was a flyer on the desk, abut the next swimming competition the Blackwell Otters had in a few weeks.

" _Mmh… that gives me a really cool idea, actually…"_

When Max finally came out of the office and closed the door behind her, her eyes stumbled upon Chloe, waiting for her with a grin on her face and a plea in her eyes, rocking her body a bit with anticipation from side to side.

"That impish look scares me…" The brunette said, knowingly.

"Care for a midnight swim?" Chloe asked, showing her the key to the gym she had on the keychain. "The Blackwell pool is ours…"

"Swimming? You want to take that risk now?!" Max asked, incredulous.

"It's been a cray week, we deserve a little mindless fun in the water…" she said, a hint of a flirtatious tone hidden among her words. "We are done for the night anyway. We are rich and nobody busted us! So…"

She walked towards Max and grabbed her hands with a mischief grin.

"Splish splash?" Chloe asked softly.

And Max returned the smile and nodded.

"You're right. We hella deserve it!" she said, and followed Chloe, who turned around and walked towards the exit. "Splish splash!"

A shiver ran through Chloe's spine the moment Max pushed her to the door softly, leaning on her to go faster. And then, she realized something, as her grin went even wider.

"Did you actually say "hella"? I think i'm a good bad influence on you."


	15. Force of Nature

_**Chapter 15: Force of nature**_

 **1st Alternative Universe - Wednesday 10/09. Early Morning.**

The walk to the pool was silent, but not unpleasant. Blackwell seemed so quiet and sleepy, the campus usually crowded and filled with life and movement felt totally different under the moonlight.

Chloe played with the big keychain as she walked towards the gym, her heart beating with excitement about their nocturne adventure. And with Max, it only got better and better, even if she knew Max wasn't exactly the type of girl who would do this kind of stuff. Hella good bad influence, if she had to say anything about it.

She found the key easily and opened the gym doors with a fluid movement. The place was dark, but not as creepy as the school was. The lobby was lit only by the light of the vending machine nearby, bouncing around over the glass cabinet, where the medals and trophies of the swimming team were stored.

"We're in the Otter's lair!" whispered Max, her voice filled with excitement.

"Big fucking deal. I want that heated water!" Chloe replied, leading the way inside with her usual nonchalant walk.

"We still have to play it cool, okay? I still go to school here…" Max's voice was only a bit louder than a whisper, and worry was hidden behind the previous excitement.

"You can own this hellhole once you figure out your rewind power." Chloe said with confidence.

" _You're going to make the world bow when you do."_

Chloe walked to the center of the lobby and with a graceful gesture she pointed at the two doors leading to the locker rooms.

"Boys or girls?" she asked with a playful smile.

"Girls of course…" Max said, her shy body language betraying the confidence in her voice.

" _Okay, stop fucking overthinking this…"_

"Girls, ooh la laa!"

Chloe walked towards the girls locker room door, but before she could open it, the door did it itself… to reveal Max at the other side of it, with a smile.

"Presto!"

Chloe rolled her eyes but smiled nevertheless as Max stepped outside the girls locker room and let Chloe pass.

"Dude, its getting old! Try and dazzle me with another trick!"

" _Such a dork…"_

She walked through the girls locker room. She never was the athletic type, aside from skating, so she never even tried to get into any of the school teams. Even so, she loved to swim and the summer, the sea, the beach… like a true pirate, as her father would say.

" _Rachel would love to be here at night…"_ Chloe thought, realizing that somehow it never occurred to her about sneaking into the pool with her. Rachel was all about summer, too. Beach, pool, fun…

She shook her head, a bit annoyed with herself for letting her mind get the better of her. She walked outside the girls locker room and approached the pool. The gym was quite big and dark, her surroundings barely visible, thanks to the emergency lights over the door.

She approached the edge and sat there, playing with her hand in the warm water.

" _Good thing they don't turn the heat off, not even at night…"_

A bright light made its appearance behind her and she looked over her shoulder with a genuine smile on her face.

"Max, try to find the light for the pool." Chloe said, smiling bright to Max. "I want to see the sharks!"

"Otters don't like sharks. They bite." Max said, with a tiny chuckle trying to get through her lips.

"So do I!"

 _"Kinda?"_

"Hit that light!"

Max smiled again and then walked way to find the light switch. Meanwhile, Chloe just looked over the pool, her mind running in a thousand different directions.

" _It's so weird being here right now… the best kind of weird. Even with all the shit going on… Fuck, I just want a moment. A moment in which my head is not actively screwing me over."_

She played a bit more with the water, then shook her hand to dry it. A low sound came from the back of the office and the lights of the pool lit up, making the water reflect it and sending bouncing spots of light around her.

" _That's better."_

She got up and took off her boots, her jacket, her beanie… she left all her clothes on the floor nearby, far enough from the pool to avoid it getting wet.

" _Swimsuits are basically the same as underwear… right? That is kind of a stupid technicality."_

Chloe walked to the edge of the pool, the cold floor under her feet sending small shivers through her spine. She stood at the edge and took a deep breath, her eyes closed. She absorbed every single sensation, the sound of the engines in the back heating the water, the small glimpse of light sneaking under her eyelids, the rough texture of the tile against her bare feet, every single centimeter of skin aware of the soft chilling air…

And a pair of blue eyes staring at her.

She could feel them stuck on her body, in the back of her head.

She smiled, raised her arms and jumped, breaking the surface of the water with a dive.

When Chloe got back to the surface, her hair drenched and sticking to her face, Max was at the edge of the pool, looking at her with a smile she returned widely.

"Oh yeah, baby! It feels like a hot tub!" Chloe said, her voice bouncing around the empty gym. "And with my cash stash I'm queen of the world. Bow!"

Max didn't reply as Chloe approached the edge, swimming slowly. The brunette just stared and smiled, like she was unable to take her eyes off of Chloe's face. The punk could feel her heart rate increase and a heat, quite different from the one emanating from the water, crawl to her cheeks. Good thing the light would hide the soft blush.

"Tell me you're not gonna stand there watching me like a zombie…" she teased, her voice soft and playful. She swam closer and tried to splash Max, her smile getting bigger when her friend jumped back, her eyes wide open in panic.

"Don't you dare!" Max squealed with a high pitch in her voice.

"Come stop me, hippie!" Chloe pushed her, splashing water towards Max again.

"Okay, you asked for it!"

Max took a step back and turned her back to the pool. In an insecure motion, she took off the gray hoodie and after a brief pause, she kicked off her sneakers and pulled her t-shirt and pants off, leaving them on the floor next to Chloe's abandoned clothes.

The light of the pool bounced over the pale skin of her back, lighting a multitude of freckles over her shoulders and right over her bra strap. Her silhouette contrasted against the dark background, making it impossible to look away. Chloe's eyes danced from the messy brown choppy hair to the line of her neck, the mark of her shoulder blades, the soft curve of her waist and hips...

" _Holy shit what the fuck are you DOING, Chloe?!"_

Max turned around and then approached the pool, the light bouncing now on her face too, her blue eyes deep like oceans and bright, keeping her smile company as they lit up with excitement.

And at that moment, it felt like time stood still. Realization hit Chloe like a hammer in the back of the head. She always knew. Ever since she had memory of it. Even before she could actually name it. She knew for years, that things would never be the same again. Not after she looked at those very same eyes years ago and felt… _this_.

But she didn't expect the feeling to actually hit so hard, to be so strong. Like it had never gone away, not even after years of being alone, feeling abandoned and unhappy.

Like a spark, that still has the power to start a fire and burn it all to the ground.

The feeling hit her with her guard down and her smile was gone. Because she _knew_ what was happening but at the same time, she didn't know what was going through Max's head.

She had to find out. Because she _needed_ to know.

She looked _away_ for a moment because it was _too much_. too much for her to look, but also too much for her to stop. Like a destructive addiction she just couldn't drop.

And then Max ran towards the edge of the pool and jumped.

"Cowabunga!" she shouted and the sound of the splash she produced when she broke the surface filled the room.

Max resurfaced, her brown hair drenched and sticking to her face.

"Why, look. An otter in my water…" Chloe joked, her voice soft as she approached her friend a bit, mimicking the theme from that particular shark movie. "dun dun dun dun dun dun..."

"You are so obvious!" Max replied, her smile so big it threatened to break her face in two.

"And I still get freaked out by that movie so stop! I can't even watch any of those shark shows."

Her words lead to a brief splash battle, and Chloe actually _giggled_ like a kid. As she returned the attacks, her cheeks felt even more weird from smiling and laughing so much. And eventually, it slowed down and faded out.

"I'll just rewind and harpoon you. Otter's revenge!" Max teased.

"Cheater!"

"Yeah, you would know about that!"

They looked at each other for a few seconds, in silence, though Max's words ringed in Chloe's ears, sending a thunder of doubt through her thoughts.

She looked away, the guilty feeling creeping back into her head. She knew it was irrational and stupid… and maybe if Rachel was actually here, things would be different. She would know exactly where she stood. But she wasn't here. Rachel was trapped in her thoughts until they would actually find her… and that lack of physical presence made it all the more confusing. But there was something she was totally sure about. Rachel and Max were really alike. But Rachel **wasn't** Max Caulfield.

She never was. Even if Chloe tried to see it like that.

She relaxed and let herself float on her back, her eyes lost in the dark ceiling above.

"I wish Rachel was here." Chloe said, a hint of pain in her voice. "She would totally love to being in here at night. Wish you guys had met each other."

" _You two are so alike… Rachel had more confidence, but… Max is getting it, too. Powers or whatever, she is changing. And I can tell."_

"We will. With all the stuff going on, I'm starting to think everything is related." Max replied. Then she swam towards the edge of the pool. "And I want to find out for kate's sake. She almost died today…"

Chloe followed her and feeling that already known uneasiness in her stomach, she approached the edge and rested her arms there, her elbow almost touching Max's.

"Your power is changing everything, Max. Especially you. I can already tell. You're not so chickenshit anymore."

"Thanks, girlfriend"

" _Oh man… Do. Not. Overthink!"_

"You know what I mean." Chloe said, watching from the corner of her eye how Max was resting her chin on her arm, looking at her.

" _I can't just… ignore that. Can I? What… what is she thinking? She's… I am so confused."_

"You're becoming like… this force of nature."

And it was true. She actually was. Because there was no sign of the shy little girl she remembered the moment she punched the fire alarm, the moment she confronted step-douche, the moment she pointed a gun at a drug dealer, when she saved her life on the train tracks… and when she managed to save Kate Marsh from ending it all.

She could see it right now, as she could almost feel Max's dark blue eyes fixed on her face, with that bright sparkle she couldn't just ignore. There was this ambiguous intensity that made her feel vulnerable and - to some point - already invaded. Like Max could actually see through it all.

That look made Chloe question herself… what was the point of holding up a facade? What was the point of keeping her guard up, if these… these _feelings_ were already there anyway?

"More like luck of nature." Max replied, snapping her out her line of thought. "Come on, my power failed trying to rescue Kate…Maybe I'm just stumbling back and forth in time… for what reason?"

"You didn't stumble when you saved me, Max."

" _Nobody would ever even miss your punk ass would they?"_

" _That's it" She thought in panic. "This is the end of the line. Oh, god, what the hell was I thinking getting myself into this fucking mess!"_

 _She heard a lot of people say that when you're about to die, your entire life flashes in front of your eyes. But it wasn't true, at least not for her. She didn't see her life going backwards, she didn't see her father or her childhood playing again in her mind._

 _The only thing she could think of was a person. And that made something in Chloe's mind snap, because it didn't make any sense. She could have thought about her father, her mother, Rachel… but her mind only brought the little thirteen year old Max Caulfield to the scene._

" _She's never leaving me!"_

 _A deafening sound cut through her line of thought. A siren rang all over the place, tripping them out. Nathan looked around in confusion, trying to understand what was going on._

"Not that time… but that's because you were there to kickstart my power." Max said, her voice low and filled with meaning.

"So it's time to start moving forward in time." Chloe replied, avoiding to look at her. She still could almost feel her friend staring at her. "And… we are obviously connected since without me you would have never discovered your power, right?"

" _I'm a fucking open book, yes."_

"Absolutely." Max said, without a doubt. "You make me feel like I know what I'm doing..."

" _And you make me feel like I want to be alive, for the first time in months."_

She had this striking thing, this desire... to hold onto time as it passed, like trying to keep her grip on a rock in the middle of a river, feeling the weight of the current against her chest.

" _I'm never letting go"_

"And you make me feel like I have a reason for still being in Arcadia Bay." Chloe said, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"I hope so…"

" _I hope so? Why can't you see yourself as I see you?"_

"Stop being so goddamn humble." Chloe said, shaking her head. "You're like the smartest, most talented person I've ever known."

"More than Rachel Amber?"

" _As much as I wanted, as much as I wished… Rachel isn't_ _ **you**_ _."_

"Dude, I'm not her groupie, okay?" Chloe said in frustration, rolling her eyes. Rachel never had returned her feelings. And it was **okay**. Because even if she... loved her, this was a totally different thing. And she always knew that. "And I'm sure you have Blackwell bros all over you. Like Warren."

"Ew! I don't want any Blackwell bros over me." Max replied in a joking tone. "There's a couple of cute guys there but they probably think I'm a total nerd…"

" _You did not just say that."_

"Uh, nerds are hot." Chloe said, with a tiny little silly smile.

" _Whatever. I speak the truth."_

"You just don't have any confidence yet."

"Unfortunately, that didn't come with my rewind power." Max said, unsure.

"No worries. Once you get over yourself, you're going to make the world bow."

" _I have so much faith in you… how you follow your dreams… how you move forward. Because I just can't… you deserve better than that."_

"As long as you're there with me." Max said, her eyes fixed on Chloe's face with an intensity impossible to ignore, a bright spark of… something. Something alive, hiding behind the dark blue veil.

Chloe looked at Max again by the corner of her eye and her face was the faithful reflection of the sad tone on her voice.

"Don't look so sad." Chloe said, hoping her voice didn't sound as shaky as she felt.

And again, she fixed her eyes on a distant point, away from her, because she was unable to keep looking without giving it all up. Nobody should see her like that. Not with all her defenses and walls crumbling to non existence.

" _She's never leaving me!"_

And either way… she gave it up.

"I'm never leaving you."

Her words lingered in the cold air for a moment, definitive like a verdict, almost carved into an eroded rock on the beach where they used to play pirates in the past. A promise that even if Max hadn't kept it, she would. Over the years, over her most turbulent crisis, over her anger, hate and despair. And even if it killed her… she would keep it until the end.

"Now I'm getting cold in here." Max said, pulling away from the edge of the pool.

Now… it was time to put the mask back on.

"Because we're yapping instead of attacking each other!" Chloe said, splashing water at her friend again. "Otter versus shark style!"

The enthusiasm had died after the deep exchange, and now that she was able to look at Max in the eyes again… no time like the present to move on.

"I … think I had my pool experience for the year, let's jet." Chloe said.

"Let's call it a draw. I'm going to freeze my ass off when I get out…"

Chloe lead the way, pushing herself up on the edge of the pool and standing up, the cold air clashing against her wet skin and making her shiver for a moment. She walked away and looked for the towels, clean and folded near the entrance to the locker rooms and threw one to Max, who caught it clumsily in the air.

Again she noticed her eyes crawling over the reflection of the pool lights that shone over Max's wet skin as she gave Chloe her back and started to dry her hair and shoulders…

Chloe rolled her eyes and started to dry herself too, rubbing the towel on her hair furiously, before drying off the rest and picking her clothes up, taking particular care in avoiding that her sight stumbled on Max, not far away from her.

"Gross! I feel like we just went swimming in Chlorine Bay." Max complained, once she was fully dressed, still trying to deal with some strands of her brown hair glued to her face.

"You look cute with your hair soaked in chemicals!"

" _Smooth!"_

"Thanks, you would know…" Max said with a light chuckle.

The sound of the double doors opening and closing violently at the other side of the pool startled them both, their eyes open wide in shock when the spot of a flashlight creeped along the walls of the pool hall.

" _Oh, shit!"_

Chloe and Max looked at each other for a moment, both with their own expressions of horror on their faces.

"Hide!" both said in unison, like they could read each other minds.

The girls ran into the locker room, escaping from the light as fast as they could.


	16. Night talks

_**Chapter 16: Night talks**_

 **1st Alternative Universe - Wednesday 10/09. Early Morning.**

Chloe ran to the exit, the only way to get out of the building. She could feel the panic rising, crawling on her skin as she went through the locker room, her heart beating furiously against her ribs, sending the adrenaline rush through her veins like fire.

She could hear Max's clumsy steps behind her and her fast breathing, fighting the horror of being caught.

They reached the lobby and Chloe stopped dead in her tracks, her blue eyes wide open in horror as the light of another flashlight lit through the doors to the entrance hallway..

"Make sure you cover the whole perimeter!" a deep mainly voice commanded at the other side of the doors. A really, really familiar voice.

" _Ah come on, step-douche too?!"_

"Are you shitting me?!" Max whispered loudly, right before following Chloe back into the locker room.

" _Fuck, we are so done!"_

The punk looked around the barely lit room and found a spot between the lockers and the wall. With all her senses alert and every single nerve on fire, she squeezed herself between the locker and the wall.

"Dude, hide! Like we were kids!" she whispered to her friend, who was standing in front of her, looking around with anxiety, holding her phone like it was a lifeline. The moment she heard her words, the brunette tried to squeeze herself next to her. "Max, no room dude! Go find another place to hide!"

"Who's there!?" The guard asked, holding his flashlight, waving it around looking for them, as he paced slowly into the room. Max's expression of horror was the last thing Chloe saw before her friend turned around and walked away. Chloe's gut shrinked in guilt.

The punk felt like her breathing was so goddamn loud that the guard could actually hear it, along with the infernal beating of her heart in her chest, the blood pumping in her ears. She saw Max's shadow from the corner of her eye, moving slowly behind the lockers, making her heart jump. The guard disappeared behind them and the door was clear, It may be her only chance, but what if Max didn't make it? Everything would have been her fault after all, with her fucking brilliant ideas.

" _Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!"_

Then, the moment the guard's flashlight disappeared behind the lockers, she saw Max's silhouette moving fast towards the exit and taking a deep breath to gather her courage, Chloe followed her friend, hoping the heels of her boots were silent enough to go unnoticed.

And Max was there in the pool room, looking around with anxiety, her phone in one hand and her other clenched in a fist.

Chloe walked towards her and grabbed her softly by the arm, making her turn and face her, with a bright genuine smile just like her own. Her dark blue eyes, her wide open smile, the bright on her face the moment their eyes connected… the fear was washed away for a moment, replaced with a warm feeling so intense that it almost made her chest hurt.

Chloe gave another step forward and hugged her, resting her chin on Max's shoulder. Max hugged back.

"We are so invisible!" Chloe said, in a hushed whisper filled with emotion, rocking her friend from side to side for a moment, before releasing her. "Let's bail!"

And she lead the way towards the exit.

Outside, it seemed like the whole security department of Blackwell was on the move. They could hear the voices of the guards talking with each other nearby or see the light of the flashlights dance over the brick walls of the main building. Max walked into direction of the dorms , but their way was cut off by two guards about to turn around the corner.

"Wait! Turn around! They are coming!" Max said, making a turn and going back to the gym, walking as fast as she could without running. Chloe followed her, trying to make her steps as silent as possible. "We have to find another way out!"

Max guided her to the back of the gym, and to the flowerbed where Chloe had her meltdown after her showdown with Nathan. The brunette dropped herself to the parking lot, and Chloe followed suit, knowing that going back to the dorms would be impossible now that the whole team of security guards were alert.

"This is bullshit… You can't go back to your dorm now, you're a Blackwell fugitive!" Said Chloe, walking fast on a sneaky fashion towards the spot she parked the truck, closely followed by Max. "Crash at my place tonight."

"You want me to crash where the Blackwell security officer live so I'll be safe?!" Max asked like her friend went utterly crazy. "Uh, Okay!"

" _You have a point but whatever, dude!"_ Chloe thought, resisting the temptation of rolling her eyes.

"Into the car!" Chloe commanded, opening the door of the truck and getting in. She put the keys in the ignition and tried to turn it on. "Get IN!"

Max jumped into the passenger seat and closed the door at the same time the engine of the truck came alive with a growl.

With the adrenaline running wild Chloe started to laugh out loud, out of anxiousness and out of relief as she hit the clutch and the vehicle scandalously left the parking lot with a loud screeching of tires.

"Hahaha later fuckers! Max, you rock! We are so fucking awesome!" Chloe shouted, taking her arm out of the window giving the finger to the academy they left behind.

And Max's laugh filled the cabin too, making Chloe's grin go even wilder.

"Yes, we so are!"

A few minutes later, the truck was parked in front of the Price's home. Chloe killed the ignition and laid back on the seat for a moment, with a big smile on her face and her ribs hurting because of how much she laughed. Soft and tiny chuckles still escaped Max's lips from time to time in the silence of the night.

"That was a hell of an adventure, huh Super Max?" Chloe said.

Max smile went wider and she looked at her with a playful spark in her eyes.

"As my hella good bad influence, you would know" she teased. "It's my last year of school, maybe it was about time I added a bit of rebellion to it."

"It suits you." Chloe whispered on a dreamy tone. "Eh, anyway. Let's start stealth operation phase two before someone sees us."

"Aye captain"

"You are a massive dork" Chloe replied, shaking her head and leading the way to the house.

Chloe opened the door and let Max in before closing it slowly and softly, to minimize the sound. Holding her keys with an iron fist, she went upstairs, closely followed by the brunette, both trying to make the less noise possible. Chloe cringed when the fifth step squeaked under the soil of her boot. Finally, both got into Chloe's room and the punk closed the door softly, before sighing in relief.

"That went well at least" she said, getting rid off the jacket and throwing it carelessly over the nearby seat.

She walked towards the desk and opened the window, ready to light a cigarette to release some of the tension. In the meantime, Max walked straight to the bed, leaving her bag on the floor, and letting herself fall on it face first with a groan.

"I'm totally exhausted." She said, her voice cushioned by the sheets and blankets.

"Past your bedtime, huh?" Chloe teased. She took a deep drag of it again and released all the smoke through her nose.

"You could say that." Max replied, rolling over to lay on her back. "I was asleep on my desk when you sent me the message to come out to find you."

"Sorry I woke you up." Chloe said, with an impish grin.

" _I'm not sorry at all."_

Max looked at her raising an eyebrow and rolling her eyes the moment she saw the wide naughty smile on her friend's face.

"What a long day, geez." Max said then, covering her face with both hands. "It seems like it lasted a week."

"Yeah… " Chloe replied absentmindedly. "Time is… weird."

"You don't have to tell me that." Max let her hands fall at her sides, her eyes lost on the ceiling. "Even with all the shit going on... I'm just so happy Kate is alright…"

Chloe sighed, then removed the ash from the tip of her cigaret before taking another drag.

"It totally caught me off guard when I saw you on the fucking news, dude." Chloe said. "Nothing ever happens here, this town might as well be a ghost town for the news, aside from the fact that we actually know shit happens behind the scenes."

"More like the Prescotts playing dirty while hiding their bullshit behind a name." Max said with a sudden rush of anger in her voice. Then she yawned widely in a really adorable way.

" _Can you stop being so cute?"_

"Well, now I can hear the real version of the events, told by the hero herself!" Chloe teased, killing the cigarette on the ashtray and jumping off the desk.

"I don't know what the media is going to say about this. I've been lucky enough to avoid any interviews and crap. They will probably ignore all the facts behind Kate's attempt."

Chloe went to the closet, stopping for a moment to take off her boots and tossing them away. Barefoot, she opened the closet and looked around for some spare clothes for her and Max. A lump on her throat showed up the moment she noticed a pair of jeans, shirt and t-shirt that belonged to Rachel. It's been almost eight months since the last time she saw her wearing them.

"Not much we can do about the Prescotts filling their faces with money to keep their mouth shut… for now."

She found a pair of shorts and an old t-shirt with a colorful skull on it. She tossed it to Max, the clothes landing on her face.

"Better take off that chlorine factory of yours before getting into my bed." Chloe said with a grin.

" _Why are you like this?"_

Max sat on the bed and examined the t-shirt for a moment, caressing the design with her fingertips. Chloe suppressed a snort and changed her clothes like nobody was there. Or trying to. She could hear every single movement Max made, tossing away her own clothes over the chair.

Wasn't it weird that _now_ she was a bit over conscious of her own body? It was a total different set up than in the pool even if there was _nothing_ going on. At least not outside her head, because her mind was total chaos. Confusion would be an understatement if she had to actually describe all her thoughts and feelings. But now that her guard was up again...

She had to clear her head _somehow._

Once she changed her clothes, she looked over her shoulder. Max was already changed, lying in bed with her eyes fixed on the ceiling with a thoughtful expression. Chloe could see the dark shadow under her sleepy eyes.

Chloe walked towards the bed and let herself fall onto it. Max barely moved, her hands resting over her stomach, and that tiny little wrinkle between her eyebrows got more evident.

"What a strange fucking day." The brunette said with a sigh.

"Do you feel like a hero yet?" Chloe teased softly, but her smile wasn't naughty. It was genuine and warm.

Max snorted but a smile formed on her lips.

"I still can't believe I…" She shook her head and interrupted her speech. Then she rolled on her side, looking at Chloe while resting her head over her own arm as a pillow. Chloe remembered they used to talk a lot when they were kids, exactly like this.

But she didn't expect the bomb that was coming.

"Chloe I stopped time." Max said, with such seriousness in her tone that even if Chloe wanted to make a joke or a sarcastic remark it was impossible.

" _Well, shit…"_

"You… you did _what?"_ Chloe asked, imitating her friend and laying on her side, her eyes fixed on the brunette's face just inches away from her.

"When.. when I arrived at the dorms, everyone was there." Max started to explain, her dark blue eyes fixed on Chloe's with such intensity it was overwhelming. Almost like a silent plea for credibility. "Kate was at the edge and when I finally got there I…" She swallowed audibly, trying to fight the lump on her throat, her voice charged with anguish. "I saw her jump, Chloe. I saw her jump so many times."

Chloe's chest felt heavy for a moment, imagining the situation. It wasn't enough Max saw her getting shot or ran over by a fucking train. She also had to watch this girl jump to her death?

The image of Max crying over her own dead body became lodged deep in her brain, maybe because of all the times she unconsciously relieved that crucial moment in the bathroom. She didn't get shot, she didn't experience that… but maybe other "Chloes" did; and what about them? That wild and impractical vision kept scrambling back and forth in her head, itching, reminding her of all the theories she read on that book and wondering… what if?

" _What the fuck is going on this week?"_

"You used your rewind to save her like… you saved me and… ended up _stopping time_?" She asked, trying to control the shaking of her voice.

"I didn't know what to do, Chloe." Max said with a hint of anxiousness. "She jumped, I rewound, she jumped _again_ …"

The anguish in her voice was so real. Bottled up in her chest now coming to the surface like a torrent. Fuck if she didn't manage to save Kate…

"I… I didn't know how but I had this feeling like… Like instead of going back I could _hold_ and… I literally froze time."

There was a moment of silence in which Chloe thought through what she just learnt. And the silent question in Max's eyes…. Chloe could almost hear her friend's voice asking her to believe what she just said.

"That sounds… so insane." Chloe finally said, her voice only a bit more higher than a whisper. "How does it feel?"

"Honestly? Awful. It felt like my head was being crushed." Max said, her eyebrows barely frowned in an expression of dread. "I don't know how I got upstairs, I could barely see and every step was like I was fighting my way against a current."

"Did your… your nose bleed again?" Chloe asked with concern.

Max nodded, her eyes a bit watery.

" _So that crap_ _ **is**_ _affecting her physically. Well fucking played, Chloe. You and your shitty urge of doing stupid stuff."_

"And when I got upstairs I couldn't hold it anymore. I let time flow again and I tried to rewind to win more time but… it didn't work. I was so fucking terrified…"

The fear in her voice, the… tiredness of it. It hit Chloe in a way she didn't anticipate. She didn't know what she was expecting when she saw it on the news or when she jokingly asked Max to tell her. Whatever she thought at that moment was wrong and how she gave shit to Max for answering the phone at the diner…

" _I'm so fucking unworthy. How could I be such a bitch? "_

After a second of hesitation, she rested a hand over her friend's arm in an attempt to comfort her. Whatever guilt trip she had to endure, there was this feeling, this need to stop the pain she could see in Max's eyes. And never see that pain again.

"But you did it, Max. You saved Kate. And you did it without your powers, that is… that is fucking amazing."

" _You are amazing. Fuck here I go again…"_

"I really don't feel it is, Chloe. I just… I'm just so happy I _somehow_ said the right thing, you know?"

"You always know what to say to me." Chloe said, almost interrupting her. "You got this."

"You really think so?" Max asked, her voice so tired, so exhausted it was even painful. She blinked softly, slowly, like every single movement of her eyelids demanded a tremendous effort.

For a moment Chloe thought about the little girl trying to fight the sleep to no avail. Some things never change.

"I'm convinced, Max." Chloe said softly, her fingertips burning right where they touched Max's arm. "You're amazing. You just need to find your confidence. When you do… you would be able to do whatever you want. I have faith in you."

Max closed her eyes finally, her lips curling into a really lazy smile as her breathing got slower and slower, almost peaceful.

"If it wasn't for you I may not be..." she mumbled.

"I'm your partner in crime, remember?" Chloe said, a smile on her lips, drowning the pain, the guilt and worry. "As long you are my partner in time."

"Yeah…" Max said, with an almost inintelligible mumble. "That sounds good."

And with those words barely leaving her lips, Max finally fell asleep. Chloe watched her for a few minutes, with that warm feeling in her chest so big, so overwhelming, that it almost ached. The soft strands of brown hair resting over her forehead, the freckles all over her face and neck, her peaceful expression, now that the fear and anxiety were washed away by the sleep as she drifted away into the land of dreams…

Chloe removed her hand from Max's arm carefully to not wake her up and sat on the bed, fighting the urge to actually slap herself. She knew these feelings were too much to handle, too much to figure out in just a night, but holy fuck she had to try. Even though she was pretty convinced of what she felt… how could she know what her friend felt? And what about Rachel?

" _Why this is so fucking hard?!"_

She took her phone from her nightstand and unlocked the screen, its light reflecting on her eyes, lighting softly the dark room around her. The image of Rachel looked back at her, with that mysterious expression and that confident spark in her eyes.

" _I wanted you to be someone you weren't. How many times I wished you were more like Max? And… you shouldn't have to. You were the only one I had to hold on to when Max wasn't here. It wasn't fair to you… I maybe should correct that. Somehow."_

With a sigh, she opened her facebook page and typed Max's name on the search bar. The profile wasn't hard to find. It was filled with people's messages about what happened with Kate. People showing support, calling her a hero, Super Max…

She looked over her shoulder to the fragile looking, exhausted girl on her bed and… smiled.

" _I'm not the only one who sees more in you."_

With a sad smile, she tapped on Max's profile picture and set it as her new wallpaper. Whatever happened tomorrow, whatever she may find about Rachel, Max or whoever… She would keep it as a memory of the best night she had in years.

And even if she was confused, troubled, worried and with her chest almost aching in equal parts of fear and love, she lay down again and a few seconds later, like she simply turned it off, her mind was silent.

And she fell into the deepest sleep she had had in months.


	17. It was so simple in the moonlight

_**Chapter 17:**_ _ **It was so simple in the moonlight, now it's fucking complicated**_

 **1st Alternative Universe - Wednesday 10/09. Morning.**

She knew she was awake, but she didn't quite want to open her eyes yet. That now familiar sensation of wanting, no… needing to get a hold on time before it passed, to just be frozen in a piece of time for a little while. That need of the world stopping, just for a moment…

She could hear the soft breeze outside, feel the warm of the sun light on her face, and the usual sound of cars coming and going from time to time on the street, like any other slow and peaceful morning in Arcadia Bay.

Lazily, Chloe slid an arm behind her head, frowning a little bit as she got more comfortable to keep sleeping. She was aware it was the first time in several months she actually fell asleep right away and nothing, no nightmares, no bad dreams, had interrupted her slumber.

She was aware of Max's presence, her weight sinking the mattress a little bit to her right, her slow peaceful breathing, as air came in and out of her lungs, raising her chest. And a mumble. A soft incoherent sound, dragged and heavy words, as she spoke.

Chloe frowned a little bit and lazily opened one eye, looking at her friend with sleepy curiosity. She could see the brunette's lips moving a little as unintelligible words came out of them.

"War… maybe…" She whispered, her words starting to make sense. Max frowned a bit and turned her head to the side, her lips trembling for a moment. "Maybe marry… Warren or… I'd not. I'd marry Chloe."

" _Wait… what the fuck?!"_

Chloe opened both eyes now, wide awake, and stared at her for a few seconds, trying to figure out what the hell just happened. Since they were kids, Max used to mumble in her sleep. Whisper, even, instead of talking. But of course it was always some random stuff, like whining about having homework or even discussing about her favorite ice cream flavor with whoever was in her dream at the time. But not this…

The brunette mumbled a few more words, without making any sense, then turned her head again and resumed her peaceful and silent sleep, while Chloe struggled to not shake her awake and have the full idea behind those sleepy whispers.

" _You need to stop reacting like this, she's just asleep! She does talk shit in her sleep!"_

Chloe closed her eyes again with a low snort, trying to collect her thoughts and relax again, fighting with all her will to stop the train of thought running in her brain before it was too late, butterflies flying wildly and her skin crawling. Eventually, she convinced herself it didn't mean anything and if it did… she may be able to find out.

After what seemed just a few minutes, she could feel Max moving next to her, stretching a bit with this tiny cute sound as she raised her arms and suppressed a yawn. Chloe opened her eyes and saw the brunette leaning over the edge of the bed and raising her camera to take a selfie, her eyes barely open and a tiny warm smile on her face. She couldn't suppress a smile on her own when she approached her friend and leaned her face closer to her to show up in the picture.

"Photobomb!" Chloe said with enthusiasm.

"Photo hog!" Max replied, her voice raspy from sleep but happy and warm.

The camera emitted its typical loud sound and a polaroid came out. Max took it, shook it and looked at it for a moment before putting it away with her camera, near the bag on the floor.

Chloe lay on her side, still using her arm as a pillow as she watched her friend lay back, resting her weight on her elbows, looking around the warm lit room with a sleepy smile.

"It feels like a different world from yesterday." she said.

"We left a skidmark on Blackwell last night." Chloe said dreamily, her eyes stuck on Max's profile.

"Like it needs another one." Max said, suppressing a snort before turning over and resting on her side, her eyes fixed on Chloe's. "I'd like to do something good for my school and Arcadia Bay… I can't even submit a photo to represent. I just don't want to be rejected."

Chloe noticed how Max's voice went lower and shyer as she explained her line of thought.

"Every great artist gets rejected before they get accepted." Chloe said, her voice serious but kind. "So you have to enter a photo."

" _You're so talented, it's time you show it to the rest of the world. Why aren't you confident in your abilities?"_

"Even though I'm pimping the school and town you want to torch?" Max asked.

" _Of course not, duh!"_

"Come on, I don't want to see Arcadia Bay burn to the shore." Chloe explained, almost rolling her eyes like it was obvious. "I just say shit like that because I've been trying to get out of here since…"

She hesitated for a moment, trying to fight back against one of those vivid memories that kept showing up out of nowhere lately. The sound of a car turning on the engine, the vivid image of a tiny brunette girl with a ponytail and a fringe looking at her through the window, tears rolling down her freckled cheeks as she waved, slowly and painfully to her.

"...since you left, basically." She concluded, giving her back to Max for a moment, looking for the remote for the Hi-fi.

The warm and comfortable silence turned into an awkward and weird one, and she hoped the tunes would help her avoid her mind to go into those usual dark places.

"If I could find Rachel and pay Frank off, I'm still leaving to start a whole new life." She said, trying to divert the attention from the sad tone her voice had. The last bits of the memory still lingering in her mind like tiny frozen pieces of time with threatening sharp edges.

She found the remote and pressed play before laying down again. The soft tunes of a guitar filled the room, as one of her favorite songs started to play. She wasn't into indie too much but that song had something different she couldn't help to love. It always helped her calm down.

"I wish we could just hang out all morning like we used to." Max said dreamily, her eyes lost in the ceiling. "Maybe we should get up I have to get back to Blackwell soon."

" _So, all of the sudden you're in a rush?"_

"Oh, does the schoolgirl have a test today?" She teased.

"I'm starting to feel like going to Blackwell everyday is a test." Max replied, ignoring the sharp edge to her voice. "I just need to get on my regular school schedule again."

The soft tunes of the guitar filled the room again as a really comfortable and warm silence fell between them. The low voice, almost like a whisper, filled Chloe's ears as the song lyrics set in. Her mind wandered in thousands of different directions, thoughts, and none of them were unpleasant for a change.

 _I know that it is freezing but I think we have to walk  
I keep waving at the taxis; they keep turning their lights off  
But Julie knows a party at some actor's west side loft  
Supplies are endless in the evening; by the morning they'll be gone._

"You whisper…" Chloe mumbled unconsciously.

"What?"

" _Oh, nice. It wasn't supposed to be out loud, dumbass… oh well..."_

After a moment of hesitation, a little mischief smile curled up Chloe's lips, before she replied.

"Like when we were kids." Chloe explained, looking at Max. She looked away for a moment, incapable of holding her gaze. It burned like the sun on her face. "You don't talk in your sleep. You whisper."

 _When everything is lonely I can be my own best friend  
I get a coffee and the paper; have my own conversations_

"For reals? Liar, liar…" Max mocked her, rolling her eyes and then hesitated, and without looking at Chloe she asked. "Uh… what did I say?

" _Oh, man… well, here goes whatever."_

"Something about marrying Warren…" Chloe said in a really bad attempt of sounding nonchalant, but still unable to look at her friend's face. "or me…"

 _With the sidewalk and the pigeons and my window reflection  
_ _ **The mask I polish in the evening, by the morning looks like shit.**_

" _Smooth, Bright Eyes. Smooth."_

There was a moment of silence in which Max looked at her, like she was trying to figure out if Chloe was bluffing or not. The tiny confident smile on her friend's face was quite clear.

"Yeah… this sounds like your dream." she replied, looking away with a satisfied smile.

" _You little smartass!"_

"I am so wiped out from last night." Chloe said after a few seconds of silence. "But it was awesome."

"I have to ponder what kind of criminal i've become."

"Last night was only the tip of the iceberg." Chloe said with confidence.

"I have to admit, it was pretty cool to take over the Blackwell gym." Max said softly, a smile on her tone.

"Today the gym, tomorrow the world. We need to step it up."

"We still have to be careful on how I use my power…" Max reminded her, her eyes lost in the ceiling again. "I don't want to get stuck in time."

 _And I know you have a heavy heart; I can feel it when we kiss  
So many men stronger than me have thrown their backs out trying to lift it  
But me I'm not a gamble you can count on me to split  
The love I sell you in the evening, by the morning won't exist._

Then, Max sat up on the bed and slowly got up, a few soft sighs as she stretched a bit. She walked around the room, absorbing every single detail in it, and how different it looked in the morning.

"I love this morning light… it's so peaceful." she said, looking at Chloe with a spark in her eyes.

"Wouldn't it be wicked if we could just hang out here forever like when we were kids?" Chloe asked, a smile on her face and hope hidden behind her tone.

"Yep... I bet you and Rachel liked to hang out here, too…"

"You know it." Chloe replied, her smile going a bit wider, remembering the good times. "She reminded me of... you; when we faked sleep so our parents didn't wake us too early saturday morning."

 _You're looking skinny like a model with your eyes all painted black  
You just keep going to the bathroom always say you'll be right back_  
 _Well it takes one to know one, kid, I think you've got it bad  
But what's so easy in the evening, by the morning is such a drag._

It could as well have been yesterday, because she remembered everything so vividly, so close… some of those memories that she kept locked in a very, very secret chest in her head. How hard she tried to forget those memories out of anger and fear, now all of them flooding everything like an unstoppable torrent. And it was so different. Max was asking about Rachel and their sleep overs… and all Chloe could do was remembering the ones in which Max was present.

 _I've got a flask inside my pocket we can share it on the train  
If you promise to stay conscious I will try and do the same  
We might die from medication, but we sure killed all the pain  
But what was normal in the evening, by the morning seems insane._

"Did you guys have a lot of sleep overs?" Max inquired, her voice a bit insecure.

"As many as possible. But it was more fun at her place." Chloe stated.

" _It wasn't the same as just you and me here, like right now."_

"Step-commando wanted us up at the asscrack of dawn…" Chloe said, and even if it was true… that wouldn't stop her from having them. That room was more hers and Max's than Rachel's and the missing blonde never could fill that space. "It's cool to be back here with you."

 _And I'm not sure what the trouble was that started all of this  
The reasons all have run away __**but the feeling never did.**_

Max smiled a bit, changing her weight from one leg to the other.

"Yes, but… sadly we are not kids anymore."

" _No… we aren't."_

 _It's not something I would recommend, but it is one way to live  
_ ' _ **Cause what is simple in the moonlight, by the morning never is**_

"At least you can date now, right?" Chloe said. "My dad was terrified of the day I'd discover _boys_."

"As Blackwell proves, boys are trouble."

"And way fucking gross. As you'll discover soon enough." Chloe added, her eyes again on the ceiling.

"Oh, okay woman of the world… please tell me how it's like to get that first magic kiss!" Max mocked her, with a smile and sassy eyes and… _wait, what?._

 _It was so simple in the moonlight,_ _ **now it's so complicated..**_

"Sorry, sorry…" Chloe said, a chuckle escaping as she looked at her friend with a spark of snarkiness. And before her brain could process the fact that Max actually didn't have her first kiss… her mouth kept going. Because she couldn't even picture her in that situation with anyone… or anyone else for that matter. "Didn't mean to get you all worked up. I just don't think anyone is good enough for you. Except me."

 _It was so simple in the moonlight, so simple in the moonlight  
So simple in the moonlight..._

" _Oh my god could you please_ _ **shut up**_ …"

"Hey lazyass, put some clothes on, then we can scarf the awesome breakfast Joyce is cooking up." Chloe said, in a really pathetic attempt for covering up her slip-up.

But it seemed like Max hadn't even noticed it. She just walked around for a moment, taking Chloe's phone, maybe to check the time.

" _Ah, crap, the picture… could as well glue it to your forehead. You're brilliant, Price."_

Then, the brunette looked at the pile of her discarded clothes lying on the chair and she shook her head in disgust, facepalming softly.

"Ew. Still reeks like a chlorine factory." she complained.

"See if you can find a suitable outfit in my fashion hole." Chloe said, pointing at the closet with her head. The brunette walked towards it and opened the doors, looking inside. Rachel's clothes was perfectly visible from Chloe's perspective. "Hey, there you go! Rachel left a bunch of her clothes with me. She's your size."

" _The only shit i've got left of her for now… I don't know if I'll hug her or slap her when I find her."_

She tried to kill her line of thought, sitting on the bed and sliding her body towards the edge, looking at how Max examined the outfit with a smirk.

"But not quite my style."

"Max, you don't have a style yet." Chloe said as she got up and walked towards the closet, with a really bad idea forming in the back of her head. She could feel her mouth was going to be faster than her judgement again, but it was impossible to not follow the hunch, to resist the impulse of actually getting rid of the confusion in her head. A confusion that had been driving her crazy for days now. "At least give it a try. You can always rewind back to your chlorine brand t-shirt and generic jeans."

"You suck!" Max said, smiling at her and her sassy, mocking tone. "I like my shirt and jeans, but it would be cool to try on rachel's clothes… just to see if they fit."

And at that, Chloe wanted to scream. But she didn't. At least not out loud. Second guessing again, like so many times in so little time. The same question she had floating in her mind arose again, clashing against her conscience like a wave after another.

"Stop second guessing yourself Max!" She said, the sass still present in her rhetoric as she approached her friend. "Put this on and let your inner punk-girl come out. You can afford to take chances!"

" _Okay… let's se how this goes. Don't fuck it up, Price. Don't fuck it up."_

"Whenever and whatever you want to try…" she said with a sassy smile and with all the confidence she could gather. Internally she was just cursing. Outside? She could fool anyone with that mask on. "For example, I dare you to kiss me!"

" _A dare, aren't ya so fucking mature?"_

"What?!" Max asked looking at her like a doe in headlights, in awe and confusion at once, like she couldn't process what Chloe had just said.

"I double dare you, kiss me now!" Chloe insisted, her smile going wider.

" _You're not going to do it. You may have changed but with this you're still the same shy Max I… "_

Her line of thought was interrupted. It broke and collapsed into a million pieces all over the place.

" _What the…"_

Max stared at her for a second. And like she had done it thousands of times already, like it wasn't the first time at all, she gave a confident step forward and her hands rested on Chloe's shoulders. She went on her tiptoes to match the punk's height and their lips _actually connected._

" _ **...!"**_

It just lasted a second. Maybe a bit more but… Chloe didn't know why she backed off when she did. She didn't know if it was because of the surprise or because she was scared as fuck the moment that soft and warm touch set her skin on fire.

She cursed internally when she felt her own body pull back from the kiss, her lips burning like crazy and that wild, uncontrollable feeling in her belly, jumping, twisting, almost making her feel sick.

She didn't know what to think, what to feel, what to say. There were very little occasions in which Chloe Price couldn't _think_ _about_ _anything to say._ It was like a thick fog made all her chaotic thoughts slow down and even if it was only for a few seconds, she could feel the mask breaking, her eyes wide open, her cheeks burning and her lips… She touched them with her right hand like a reflex, like she could actually feel the kiss with the tip of her fingers and somehow keep it right there where it belonged.

The only clear idea in her mind, the only thing that made her knees shake and her skin crawl, was the one that she feared the most. She knew her feelings already to some extent but after this… she realized it wasn't just that old crush she always had. Chloe was so into her she could barely breathe. But at the same time, all she wanted was to fall in deep.

But the fear… that ominous thought crawling from the back of her head, pushing its way through her mind. The same fear that made her back off almost instinctively...

And she realized she was staring at Max, whose eyebrows were raised and together in a cute small expression of... disappointment? As she let her arms fall to her sides slowly, almost like she didn't _want to_... Or maybe Chloe was reading between lines and projecting?

" _GET OVER YOURSELF AND SAY SOMETHING FOR FUCK'S SAKE!"_

"Damn!" Chloe managed to mutter, realizing she still had the tip of her fingers resting on her mouth. "You're hardcore Max!"

" _That? That is the only shit you're able to say? Really? Oh my god."_

"Now I can text Warren and tell him he doesn't stand a chance! Unless he's into girl on girl action!" She continued, letting her sassy mouth take over her judgement for the moment because she was still trying to figure out what the fuck just happened. It was like she literally blue screened for a moment there. She turned around to hide her face because she could feel its muscled tensed, as she tried to figure out if she wanted to scream, to smile or what.

"You're such a dork!" Max teased with a smile on her face and a confidence Chloe didn't expect.

Chloe's lips were _burning_ , her heart was jumping, her guts were jumping wildly, her skin _itched…_ And this overwhelming feeling of… _happiness._

" _This… this is impossible. But it happened. This is fucking insane I fucking… I kissed her! It… it was a dare but still, holy shit!"_

"You better don't rewind and take that kiss back." She said once she was laying in bed again, with a really sassy and confident tone.

But then she felt self conscious about it. What if she… What If Max regretted it? What if she took it back? What if she decided to rewind it because she backed off like a coward?

"You know I'm hotter than those Seattle art-holes, right?" Chloe asked, cursing at her own insecure tone.

" _Hotter than those Seattle art-holes? Fucking great…"_

Max simply smiled at her with an eyebrow up. An expression that said "Seriously?" all over in the most snarky tone Chloe could imagine, even if she didn't say anything. Then, the brunette turned around and started changing into Rachel's clothes. A few seconds later she walked like she was on a runway, moving her hips and her arms with an aura of confidence that was yet unknown to Chloe. She stared at her friend with a smile and bright eyes and… well... goddamn butterflies all over. Even with Rachel's clothes she was still Max. Which was a relief because that fucking flannel seriously gave Chloe too many memories to keep her head straight.

"Lookin' sick, Max!" The punk said with enthusiasm as she rested on her elbow to check ou… to _look_ at her friend's new clothes. "A couple of tats, some piercings and we'll make a thrasher out of you yet!"

" _Wouldn't it be awesome? I'm so fucking sure she would rock that style… but… that may turn her into more like Rachel? Ugh, could you please not go there brain? Thanks!"_

"Ready for the mosh pit, shaka brah!" Max said, making an upside down sign of the horns with her hand.

Aaand the spell broke.

" _Nope! No Rachel. Same old Max right here. That was so wrong…"_

"Maybe not." Chloe said, looking away. "Go down and say hi to Joyce. Free breakfast!"

She lay back on bed and smiled at Max, resting her head on her arms again.

"I need to, er, wake n' bake first." She added.

" _More like I need a fucking minute to get my goddamn freak on!"_

"I promise not to tell." Max said, with a knowing smile and walking away towards the door.

"Let's not rewind and find out, 'kay?" Chloe mocked her and then Max, after one last look over her shoulder, was gone.

The moment Max closed the door, Chloe rolled over, burying her face on the pillow and growled, hitting the mattress with her fists. How could someone be so happy and so frustrated at the same time? It didn't make any logical sense.

She sighed again and raised her head, enough to rest her chin on her now crossed arms over the pillow. She stared at the wall where they used to measure their height, all covered in insults and her own rage and even if the incredible feeling of happiness, one that had been absent for years now, was still there, another feeling teamed up with her frustration and dropped a seed. And it instantly flourished into one question.

" _Now that you know the Max thing is not just a crush… why the fuck did you back off?!"_


End file.
